Novarra started in 2000 and launched its first wireless web software application in 2002 to enable mobile workforce users with
Palm (PDA),
BlackBerry, Symbol and
Windows Mobile devices to securely access and customize corporate applications through wireless networks. In 2002, Novarra’s received the first handset manufacturer contract to supply a full browser to
Palm, Inc. for
Tungsten (handheld) PDAs (branded WebPro). In 2004, Novarra’s first mobile network operator deployment with
U.S. Cellular marked the launch of the BREW (
Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless) version of its browser platform and the first mobile operator in the world, to provide open internet access on all handsets. Previous to that mobile consumers would pay for bite sized content in the form of "WAP" sites which were a referred to as a "walled garden" of content controlled by the Mobile Operators. This was similar to the current "app" ecosystems on iOS and Android application stores. In 2005, the company deployed its J2ME version of the
Java Platform, Micro Edition browser client which was later adopted by several of
Hutchison 3G Group's operating companies. It was branded as www3 in Italy and 3Xplorer in Hong Kong. The company's main competitor Opera emerged, by releasing its first version of a Java-based client called Opera-mini. In 2007 Novarra secured venture capital from
Qualcomm and other investors to expand into Asia. Also, their streaming internet video service was launched with 3 Hong Kong and
Vodafone United Kingdom utilized Novarra for an update to
Vodafone Live! that included an integrated portal, search and open internet access service for all phones. As a first of its kind, this service received much criticism from mobile developers. In 2008, Novarra took steps to provide guidance for mobile developers when deploying a similar service at
Verizon Wireless (also this deployment caused criticism by the community of mobile developers) and is a member of the
World Wide Web Consortium Mobile Web Best Practices Working Group. In 2009 Novarra's Jayanthi Rangarajan steps down to COO and the firm cuts 20% of manpower. The company also began reporting mobile internet usage statistics from deployments. In 2010, Novarra was acquired by
Nokia and was launched as the browser on
Series 40 mobile phones. The cloud-based browser platform was eventually rebranded as
Nokia Xpress for Nokia
Asha Platform devices, also available as a secondary browser for
Nokia Lumia smartphones via download from
Windows Phone Store. In 2014, the bulk of Novarra's team was acquired by BMW Technology Group to develop its BMW Connected and Open Mobility Cloud services. Novarra customers used some or all elements of its Vision Mobile Internet & Multimedia Platform which included: Vision Mobile Client for feature phones & smartphones Vision Cloud Platform for Content Transformation On-device Portal Customization Toolkits Video & Multimedia Server Widgets Mobile Broadband Optimization Advertising and Analytics ==Products==