Put simply, a Widget is a small Web application that provides easy access to a specific part of the Web. Widgets can be as simple as delivering a weather forecast, or as complex as enabling a user to quickly and easily monitor their status in an eBay auction and be notified via the home screen if they’ve been outbid. As such, Widgets provide an easy method for users to supplement the functionality of their devices just as they customise with ringtones and wallpapers today.
Widgets can be implemented one of two ways. The first approach is to use a bespoke Java client that provides an environment in which Widgets can run - Widsets is a good example. This approach guarantees wide distribution but can be somewhat limited by the capabilities of the underlying JVM and the techniques used for developing the Widgets themselves often deviate away from Web standards. A far better approach is to leverage the browser itself as a runtime environment for executing Widgets. For more information on what we mean by a Web Runtime click
here. S60 have already launched a Web Runtime as part of their core browser and many of the independent browser vendors are likely to follow this year.
By leveraging Web technologies, Web Runtimes will be accessible to anyone with basic Web skills, lowering entry barriers and creating a new landscape for developing and deploying mobile applications such as Widgets. This in turn will encourage the Internet players to cross the chasm from desktop to mobile and drive innovation in the mobile space at a pace that will see it catching up if not overtaking that of the fixed Internet over the next few years. We're heading for exciting times!
