RIM is good at plenty of stuff: As any sore-thumbed business-type could tell you, they’ve got the whole email thing down. They can pump out software updates for a bunch of handsets at an outright impressive pace. With the BlackBerry Storm2, they’ve shown people that they can build the touchscreen device everyone thought they were building the first time around. Even with all these talents, one thing still drags them down, tarnishing an otherwise exceptional brand: their browser.
Sure, the BlackBerry browser has gotten marginally better over time – but compared to the competition, it falls short in nearly every department. Rumors were abound a few months back that BlackBerry was planning to completely overhaul their browser, scrapping the entire thing in favor of a browser built around WebKit, the same engine used for the iPhone and Android browsers. A few weeks later, RIM snatched up Torch Mobile, developers behind the semi-popular (and WebKit based!) browser for Windows Mobile, Iris.
Things were pretty much set in stone when Iris developer’s disclosed that they’d be making good use of their “WebKit-based mobile browser expertise” while at RIM – but if that wasn’t enough for you, how about word straight out of RIM’s mouth?
MobileCrunch reader Daniel B. was lurking through job postings on LinkedIn, and found this gem from RIM. From that post:
Utilizing their expert knowledge in C++ programming, the successful candidate will be working in a fast-paced, dynamic development environment to develop a WebKit-based browser for the BlackBerry Platform.
So, there we are, folks; if there were any doubts left in your mind that BlackBerry was going WebKit, let them be cast away. Between this move and RIM’s budding love for Flash, BlackBerry fans have plenty of reason to be excited.