Bolt (web browser)

BOLT Browser
Developer(s)Bitstream Inc.
Initial releaseFebruary 16, 2009 (2009-02-16)
Final release2.52 [±]
EngineWebKit
PlatformJava ME[1]
Available inEnglish, Spanish, and Russian; can display web pages in languages with Latin or Cyrillic-based alphabets[2]
TypeMobile browser
LicenseProprietary

The BOLT Browser was a web browsing system for mobile phones including feature phones and smartphones able to run Java ME applications. The BOLT browser was installed on the phone, and BOLT servers accessed Web pages, processed and compressed them, and delivered them to phones running the browser. The BOLT Browser was offered free of charge to consumers, and by license to mobile network operators and handset manufacturers. BOLT was produced by Bitstream Inc., the company which previously produced ThunderHawk for mobile network operators and handset manufacturers. BOLT was originally introduced into private beta on January 15, 2009[3] and was made available to the public on February 16, 2009[4] when the public beta was announced at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. BOLT supported Java-based handsets with Java MIDP 2 and CLDC 1.0 or higher.[5] BOLT also has specially optimized version for BlackBerry smartphones[6] and worked with Windows Mobile and Palm OS devices that employ a MIDlet manager or Java emulator. BOLT was built using the WebKit rendering engine to display a full Web page layout as found on desktop web browsers.

In December 2011, the BOLT proxy server was discontinued, disabling the service, and browser development stopped.

  1. ^ "BOLT Browser FAQ: Platform Support". Bitstream Inc. 2010-03-24. Archived from the original on 2011-03-17. Retrieved 2009-09-02.
  2. ^ "BOLT Browser FAQ: Language Support". Bitstream Inc. 2010-03-24. Archived from the original on 2011-03-17. Retrieved 2009-09-02.
  3. ^ "Bitstream BOLT mobile browser goes into private beta - we've got invites". MobileCrunch. 2009-01-15. Archived from the original on 2010-10-05. Retrieved 2009-09-02.
  4. ^ "BOLT Joins Browser Wars on the Mobile Front". CMS Wire. 2009-02-19.
  5. ^ "BOLT Browser FAQ". Bitstream Inc. 2009-02-16. Archived from the original on 2011-12-04. Retrieved 2009-09-02.
  6. ^ "BOLT Browser FAQ". Bitstream Inc. 2009-02-16. Archived from the original on 2011-12-04. Retrieved 2009-09-02.