The Embedded Microprocessor Benchmark Consortium (EEMBC) has launched a standardized, industry-accepted method for evaluating portable connected devices with a primary focus on browser performance. Known as BrowsingBench, the EEMBC benchmark is designed to determine the effectiveness of hardware and software products in processing and displaying Web pages.

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BrowsingBench measures the complete user experience, from the click or touch on a URL to the final page rendered on the screen. And in addition to JavaScript execution, it measures page-rendering speed and factors in Internet content diversity.

“We developed BrowsingBench with a strong focus on real-world behavior—by using real Web site content, connecting the Web server to the test device via WLAN (wireless local-area network), and introducing client-server latency found on a typical Internet connection,” said Mansoor Chishtie, chief technologist of Web technologies at Texas Instruments and chair of the EEMBC working group that produced the benchmark.

“Furthermore, the collaborative effort of our working group members has ensured that BrowsingBench provides an equitable, unbiased, and repeatable test for mobile devices—core capabilities critical to ensuring data can be used by technology providers and customers alike to fairly assess device performance,” Chishtie said.

BrowsingBench sets up its own client-server network to ensure repeatability and a close to real-world broadband profile. It also lets users modulate the bandwidth and latency of the local server to simulate a variety of wireless and Wi-Fi scenarios, though the official test results will be generated using a standard 20-ms latency to simulate a broadband profile.

Also, the tool measures the actual browsing performance within a commercial standalone browser, instead of requiring custom applications for each device platform, to provide extreme portability and automated testing, according to the EEMBC. Users will be able to compare browsing performance on a level playing field across different hardware platforms running a wide variety of software browser implementations, the organization said. 

“Creating a benchmark for mobile platforms requires more than just loading a series of Web pages, as you must carefully control caching effects, check for page-rendering compliance, and perform tasks such as page scrolling to ensure 100% rendering,” said Shay Gal-On, EEMBC’s director of technology. “In addition, the exhausting testing by working-group members has helped ensure that BrowsingBench provides a rock-solid and reliable testing environment.”

BrowsingBench is available now for EEMBC members and for non-member licensing. For more information, contact EEMBC president Markus Levy at markus.levy@eembc.org.

EEMBC
www.eembc.org