Summary of Browser Characteristics (Windows CE 5.0)
The following tables summarize and compare the characteristics of the mobile Internet browser, Internet Explorer 6 for Windows CE, and Internet Explorer 6 for Windows (Desktop Internet Explorer).
Device-Related Characteristics
| Characteristic | Mobile Internet Browser | Internet Explorer 6 for Windows CE | Desktop Internet Explorer 6 |
|---|---|---|---|
| ROM footprint (on X86. Exact footprint depends on processor and Catalog items selected.) | 504 KB for rendering/browser engine. 2.2 MB for all Catalog items. | 2.63 MB for rendering/browser engine. 4.2 MB for all Catalog items. | 15 MB minimum. |
| Processors | All Windows CE–supported processors | All Windows CE–supported processors | Intel X86, Motorola PowerPC (Apple Macintosh OS). |
| Input devices | Touch or mouse, keyboard, 4-key navigational device, and action button | Touch or mouse, keyboard, 5-key navigational device (remote) | Mouse, keyboard; others, including voice recognition, available through third-party application. |
| Printing | No | Yes | Yes, print preview, custom print templates. |
| Fixed width layout (dynamic fitting of page to screen) | Yes | Yes (optional) See Internet Explorer TV-Style Navigation OS Design Development for details. |
No |
| Television-Style (5-key) navigation | Yes. By default, this functionality is disabled. | Yes (optional) See Internet Explorer TV-Style Navigation OS Design Development for details. |
No |
Browser Container Characteristics
| Characteristic | Mobile Internet Browser | Internet Explorer 6 for Windows CE | Desktop Internet Explorer 6 |
|---|---|---|---|
| User interface (UI) | Windows CE Standard Shell. Sample browser UI included and integrated into standard shell. | Must be provided by OEM host application. Sample browser UIs, IESample, IESimple, and Explorer(Standard Shell) are provided. | Internet Explorer. Browser functionality can also be exposed in a stand-alone application to create a custom user interface. |
| Auto-complete URL | Can be provided by OEM host application. | Yes. Implemented in IESample. | Yes |
| Drag and Drop operations | No | No | Yes |
| Favorites | Can be provided by OEM host application. The sample browser implements the Favorites functionality. | Can be provided by OEM host application. The sample browser, IESample, implements the Favorites functionality. | Yes |
| Forward/Back navigation | Yes | 64 KB fixed RAM allocation for Forward and Back navigation storage (travel log). Forward and Back navigation to 64 frames, or less than 64 Web pages depending on the number of frames per Web page. | 2 MB RAM allocation. |
| Internet Options Control Panel | Yes, provided as a sample application. An OEM can modify the sample or replace it with a custom application. | Yes, provided as a sample application. An OEM can modify the sample or replace it with a custom application. | Yes |
| Localized languages | Localized in all languages localized for Windows CE. | Individual modules (DLLs) are localized in all languages localized for Windows CE. WBT UI is localized to Japanese. | All languages localized for Windows. Support for vertical text. Single binary for complex scripts. |
| Online Help | Yes | No online Help content provided, but an OEM can implement simple HTML-based Help pages. | Windows HTML-based Help. |
| View HTML source | No | Use view-source protocol or save page as <filename>, and then view. | Yes |
Client/Server Communication Characteristics
| Characteristic | Mobile Internet Browser | Internet Explorer 6 for Windows CE | Desktop Internet Explorer 6 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Using Client Capabilities | No, but does support screen and navigator objects for property access to client capabilities information. | Support for properties only, no methods. No other Internet Explorer behaviors supported. | Yes |
| Cookies | The maximum number of elements (4 KB maximum each) set by registry. Persistent depending on the OEM implementation. | The maximum number of elements (4 KB maximum each) set by registry. Persistent depending on the OEM implementation. | The maximum number of elements (4 KB maximum each) set by registry. Persistent to hard disk drive. |
| Data Binding (provides asynchronous downloading from server, client-side sorting and filtering) | No | No | Yes |
| Supported Protocols | IPv4, IPv6, HTTP 1.1 (http, https), FTP, file://, TLS.
An OEM can use the Asynchronous Pluggable Protocol APIs to support custom and predefined protocols, such as mailto. |
IPv4, IPv6, HTTP 1.1 (http, https), FTP, file://, TLS.
An OEM can use the Asynchronous Pluggable Protocol APIs to support custom and predefined protocols, such as mailto. |
IPv4, IPv6, HTTP 1.1 (http, https), FTP, file://, gopher, NNTP, Javascript, mailto, news, res, telnet, view-source. Supports Asynchronous Pluggable Protocols. |
| User agent (UA) string (specifies browser compatibility) | Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 4.01; Windows CE; PPC; 240x320) | Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows CE; OEMSTRING) | Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0) |
Web Language and Scripting Characteristics
| Characteristic | Mobile Internet Browser | Internet Explorer 6 for Windows CE | Desktop Internet Explorer 6 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Extensible Markup Language (XML) | MSXML Parser 3.0 | MSXML Parser 3.0 | MSXML Parser 3.0 |
| Dynamic HTML (DHTML) | Document object model support including images collection and image object, run-time creation of images and options, string indexing of collections, and read/write innerHTML properties. | Supports the W3C Document Object Model Level 1. For information, see About DHTML. No support for dynamic properties, HTML+TIME, or transitions. Supports image filtering as optional functionality. No support for behaviors, except for client capabilities. |
Full support for Internet Explorer 6 Document Object Model, element behaviors, view link, filters, transitions, HTML+TIME. |
| Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) | HTML 4.01 and XHTML 1.1 (including XHTML Basic).
Supports tables, forms, and frames. XML MIME viewer. No Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML). |
Version 4.01 supported except for ABBR, Q, and OPTGROUP tags.
XML MIME viewer. No VRML. |
Version 4.0 fully supported, except for ABBR and Q tags. |
| Scripting | Windows CE JScript 5.5 (ECMA-262 compliant) | JScript (ECMA-262 compliant)
Supports script authoring. |
Windows Scripting Host supports JScript 5.5 and VBScript 5.5.
Supports script authoring. |
Content Format and Delivery Characteristics
| Characteristic | Mobile Internet Browser | Internet Explorer 6 for Windows CE | Desktop Internet Explorer 6 |
|---|---|---|---|
| ActiveX® controls | Supports use of controls that are already installed on user's device. An OEM can add support for automatic download. | Supports use of controls that are already installed on user's device. An OEM can add support for automatic download. | Yes. Ability to download and use dependent on security zone settings. |
| Audio formats | WAV (PCM) and other formats through Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME)-type handlers. | WAV (PCM), other formats through MIME-type handlers. | Windows Media, WAV (PCM), other formats through MIME-type handlers. |
| Cascading style sheets (CSS) | Compliant with CSS1 and CSS2 core functionality and CSS Mobile Profile. No support for positioning. | Compliant with CSS1 and CSS2 core functionality, limited support for filters and transitions. | Yes |
| File formats | GIF, JPEG, BMP, XBM, PNG, HTML, TXT, GIF89a. | GIF, JPEG, BMP, XBM, PNG, HTML, TXT, GIF89a. | All Internet formats. Some, such as PDF and RAM may require third-party plug-in. |
| Font downloading | No | No | Yes |
| MIME-type helpers | Can be provided by OEM host application. | Can be provided by OEM host application. | Many, installable. |
| Internet Explorer Multiple-Language API | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Streaming media through the Microsoft DirectX® application programming interface (API) | Yes, through the WMP ActiveX control (OCX) for PPC. | Yes, through the WMP 6.4 ActiveX Control. | Yes |
| Java Virtual Machine | Java language applets are supported when a third-party Java Virtual Machine is installed on a device. There is no Microsoft Virtual Machine for Windows CE. | Java language applets are supported when a third-party Java Virtual Machine is installed on a device. There is no Microsoft Virtual Machine for Windows CE. | Java language applets are supported when a third-party Java Virtual Machine is installed on a device. There is no Microsoft Virtual Machine for Windows CE. |
| Cache | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Clipboard | Can be implemented by OEM host application. Not fully implemented in the sample browser application. | Can be implemented by OEM host application. Not fully implemented in the sample browser application. | Yes |
| Context Menu (right-click menu) support | Yes, accessed using tap-and-hold. Also supports context menu extensions through registry settings and through scripts. | Yes. Also supports context menu extensions through registry settings and through scripts. | Yes. Also supports context menu extensions through registry settings and through IDocHostUIHandler. |
| HTML Editing | No | Limited support (cut/copy/paste/delete and undo/redo). | Yes |
| HTML Applications (HTA) Use to create trusted HTML applications. | No | Yes | Yes |
| Intelligent Forms (for automatic completion of user input, saved passwords) | No | No | Yes |
| Link highlighting | Underlined | Underlined, hover, none | Underlined, hover, none |
| Offline browsing, subscriptions | Can be implemented by OEM host application. | Can be implemented by OEM host application. | Yes |
Authentication and Security Characteristics
| Characteristics | Mobile Internet Browser | Internet Explorer 6 for Windows CE | Desktop Internet Explorer 6 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Encryption | 64-bit and 128-bit SSL | 40-bit and 128-bit SSL | 40-bit and 128-bit SSL |
| Hit Logging (to monitor activity on a Web site) | No | Yes | Yes |
| Recreational Software Advisory Council Internet rating system (RSACi) | No | No | Yes |
| Security | SSL2, SSL3, TLS 1.0, SGC, Passport v1.4 | SSL2, SSL3, TLS 1.0, Passport v1.4 | SSL2, SSL3, TLS 1.0, Passport v1.4 |
| URL Security Zones | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| User authentication | Basic and NTLM supported directly and other methods, including Kerberos, supported by means of integration through the Security Support Provider Interface (SSPI). | Basic and NTLM supported directly and other methods, including Kerberos, supported by means of integration through the SSPI. | All Windows-supported authentication methods. |
See Also
Choosing an Internet Browser | Using Asynchronous Pluggable Protocols
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