On Wednesday Samsung uneiled the L870, its latest slider phone. Among the features listed for the new phone, the company claimed that the web browser was not only a full HTML browser, but that it actually uses the mobile version of Apple’s Safari web browser.
According to MacNN the company made no mention of receiving permission from Apple for the product, and made no effort to explain how the software would be used on the device. Not only would the application have to be ported from OS X to Symbian Series 60 OS, but the controls would also have to be changed to make it possible to navigate with a directional pad, since the L870 does not offer a multi-touch display.
I think we all know there is zero chance that Apple actually licensed their Safari web browser onto this phone (although I think that’ something Apple should consider in the future – but that’s a different article all together). What is more likely, is that the browser that Samsung is using here is based on Webkit, the open-source project that also happens to be the basis for Safari.
My guess is that their will be a retraction of the “Safari” claim soon, but not before word spreads, and Samsung gets a ton of free publicity.
One thought on “Samsung claims Safari browser in newest phone”
Samsung is using webkit and they don’t have to have permission from Apple. There is already a port of webkit for S60 platform. Nokia is already using it in all its s60 based smartphones https://opensource.nokia.com/projects/S60browser/index.html