While we patiently wait for a new — hopefully WebKit-based –  BlackBerry Web Browser, RIM just filed a stop-gap measure patent to help speed up their mobile browsing experience.  The patent details using a proxy server to compress data from web requests and  serve up standard HTTP while automatically downloading and caching images.  Sound familiar?  Opera Mini does the same thing today.

We’re all for improving web browsing for BlackBerry devices; but hopefully this is something that RIM is doing to complement a forthcoming overhauled browser  — and not just compensate by merely speeding up a mediocre browsing experience.

[WSJ, IntoMobile]