The handset maker will use the same open source components as Apple’s Safari browser for its Series 60 platform.

Nokia has been collaborating with Apple on developing a mobile browser based on a couple of key components. WebCore and JavaScriptCore, used by Apple in the Safari web browser, will figure prominently in the project.

Those components are based on KHTML and KJS, from KDE’s Konqueror open source browser. As Nokia adapts them for the smartphone platform, it hopes to enhance the browsing experience for users. According to a study Nokia conducted, over 50 percent of the data traffic from cellphones was generated by browsing.

Said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing: “The Safari Web Kit’s blazing performance, efficient code base and support for open standards make it an ideal open source technology for projects like Nokia’s new Series 60 browser.”

The browser will be available in the first half of 2006 for its Series 60 licensees. Series 60 is based on the Symbian OS, and is used by cellphone makers like LG, Samsung, Panasonic, and Siemens.

The browser will support all features of the current Series 60 browser as well as being enhanced with increased performance and new features. Nokia extolled the virtues of its partnership with Apple. “The unified and compatible browser base will offer a very compelling choice for Web content developers,” said Pertti Korhonen, Chief Technology Officer, Nokia.

David Utter is a staff writer for Murdok covering technology and business. Email him here.