Overview on embedded browsers
There are many aspects to consider when evaluating an embedded browser,including the following:
- Performance
- How long does it take the browser to display a Web page? How fast do UIs and Web applications written with JavaScript, CSS and DOM run?
- Standards support
- Does the browser fully implement relevant W3C and Internet standards? Does the browser support popular Internet pages? What about Street HTML?
- Rendering
- How does the browser adapt Web sites to suit smaller screens and new input devices? Can Web applications control how the screen is rendered?
- Features and APIs
- How can the browser be integrated with other software? How can the browser be used in a device? Can the browser run Web applications?
- Security
- Does the browser support relevant security protocols? How does the browser perform in security tests?
Performance
Many performance measures can be taken with a simple stopwatch.
- How long does the browser take to connect to the Internet, make a DNS request and start receiving data?
- How long does it take the browser to start displaying content?
- How long does the page have to load, before it is possible to select links and scroll?
- How long does it take to fully load a page?
- How quick is the browser at moving forward or backward through page history?
Additionally, there are many Internet-based tests that can be used to measure the speed of certain browser features. The performance of JavaScript and CSS is a key consideration when making browser-based user interfaces and applications.
Standards
To make interoperable (cross-device, cross-browser) Web applications, it is important that a browser supports key W3C Web standards. To evaluate this, consider the following:

Acid2 is a test page, designed to help browser vendors ensure proper support for Web standards in their products. Please take the Acid2 test. Opera Devices CDK passes with flying colors.
Acid3 is a test page, just like Acid2, designed to help browser vendors ensure proper support for Web standards in their products. Please take the Acid3 test.
Browsers often support only some elements of important standards such as HTML 4.01, CSS 2.1 and DOM2. For detailed specifications of Opera's standards support, please see Opera Web specifications support and select the specification for Presto 2.7.
Street HTML is common on the Internet, and the term refers to the HTML pages where the authors have not complied strictly to the relevant Internet standards. To render the full Internet, a browser must support Street HTML. Opera's provides Browser Javascript to handle Street HTML. This is a collection of scripts developed and maintained by us that patch Web pages so that they are fully functional in Opera. For more information, see the Browser JavaScript section.
Rendering
Rendering refers to how well a browser displays Web sites. Points to consider include the following:
- Are elements drawn correctly on the screen?
- Are the default styles usable?
- Are the background/foreground colours correct?
- Are tables correctly drawn and readable?
- Are all form elements displayed?
- Is the page layout correct and as compact as possible?
Some advanced Web sites which can be used to evaluate rendering for a browser are:
- news.google.com [Layout, Forms]
- www.bloomberg.com [Tables]
- www.theregister.co.uk [Layout]
- www.travelocity.com [Forms]
- www.latimes.com [Layout]
- www.cnn.com
Web pages are commonly designed with a PC-like display resolution in mind so it is important that the browser can adapt Web pages for devices with screens of a different resolution and size. Opera contains advanced rendering technology that dynamically adapts Web pages to suit different sized screens. For more information, please see the Features - Extensible Rendering Architecture section.
The @media style sheets in CSS are very useful as they enable the author of a Web site to specify different designs for a Web site according to the screen size.
Features and APIs
To evaluate a browser, it is important to consider the features offered both by the product in general and features that can be customized in the integration to suit your needs. For an overview of the features offered in Opera Devices CDK, please see the Features section.
Security
Secunia.com is a Web site with a notable reputation for tracking security vulnerabilities across a wide range of software products. You can check the security issues of the browser in question on this site.