Saturday, March 1, 2008

Deepfish

Microsoft has unveiled the beta version of its new Mobile Web Browser “Deepfish” for the Windows Mobile.
Deepfish is a lightweight client application that leverages a powerful server side technology for delivery of content such as web pages to a Windows Mobile device. Content is displayed in a familiar desktop format that requires no additional work by the content or site author.
Mobile browsers required content to be specifically tailored to the mobile device, which does not really include rich page layouts. It also required developers and designers to do additional work, although the user base of mobile browsers is limited. To combat this limitation, the majority of today’s browsers use a single-column format which dynamically reformats existing pages by repositioning the content to fit in the limited screen size. This essentially “crushes” the page to fit the small screen. This approach, while an improvement in some cases, generally results in a difficult-to-view page that requires excessive scrolling in order to use the portions of the page. And when you see the page, it isn’t presented in the way the Web designer intended. Deepfish’s interface addresses this problem by providing users with a simple way to zoom in and out on the part of the Web page that interests them, while presenting the information as it was intended. All of this adds up to an easier and faster way to navigate through a page.

Deepfish provides:
  • A familiar look and feel of web pages on mobile as seen on desktop.
  • Bandwidth optimized rendering for faster content delivery.
  • Address bar web navigation.
  • Intuitive zooming, panning and cue map for quick navigation and browsing.
  • Support for simple link navigation and form submission.
Here is a cool video that demonstrates the capabilities of “Deepfish”