How to Format Tables for Viewing on a Blackberry

The latest generation of BlackBerry smart phones has substantially improved Internet browsing capabilities compared to previous generations. The platform still suffers from various limitations due to the BlackBerry's hardware configuration. Smaller screen resolutions, limited memory and slower processors require that Web pages be tailored for optimal performance. Table formatting is a key element of this tailored page design.

Instructions

1

Set table widths that are appropriate for viewing on a BlackBerry screen. Newer models only have screen resolutions of 480 pixels across. Creating tables wider than this requires the user to scroll horizontally across the screen.

2

Avoid nested tables. Putting one table inside of another requires a lot of memory to render. Since the BlackBerry has limited system and video memory, nested tables will slow down rendering significantly.

3

Split long tables into multiple tables. When rendering a Web page, the browser cannot display a table until it has parsed all data up to the closing tag. Splitting long tables into multiple smaller tables increases rendering speed.

4

Use simple page layouts that avoid tables where possible. Designers often make use of tables as a method for controlling page layout. Doing so increases page size, decreasing rendering performance on BlackBerry devices. Make use of tables only where necessary on pages intended for display on the BlackBerry mobile platform.