Skyfire Labs has released iPhone and iPad versions of Skyfire 4.0, an update to its signature web browser. The software copes with a fundamental limitation of iOS by playing converted Flash video from a selection of over 200,000 websites. While the v4.0 update makes the browser compatible with iOS 5, the primary addition is actually a video recommendation system.
Skyfire has released VideoQ, a new app for iOS devices. The title is similar in concept to the developer's web browser, allowing users to watch Flash videos in iOS after conversion on a remote server. VideoQ is dedicated solely to playback though, and loads clips mainly based on links imported via email, the clipboard or a bookmarklet installed in Safari.
The iPhone version of Skyfire been updated to version 3.0. The app takes web-based Flash video and, through the developer's servers, converts it into an HTML5 format playable by iOS devices. The v3.0 update grants access to more Flash video, though it still lacks 100 percent compatibility.
Skyfire has submitted the iPad version of its iOS browser for approval by Apple, the company says. The new app should mostly provide a larger viewing area for both Flash videos and webpages. It will also include a more convenient menu system, however, and integrate some social networking features carried over from SkyFire 3.0 for Android.
Skyfire has introduced an update to its mobile browser for Android handsets. Version 3.0, also referred to as the "Facebook edition," focuses on social networking integration. The new SkyBar interface allows users to quickly view site popularity, while a feed reader presents a filtered list of Facebook posts containing links to websites, images or videos.
Skyfire has quietly said it was dropping Symbian and Windows Mobile support for its browser. The two would phase out at the end of 2010 and would only see the more advanced Android and iOS 2.0 versions available in the near future. Both being initially free made them unsustainable, but the age of the apps and problems with the platforms themselves made it unrealistic to charge a device for a product that would be dropped earlier, Skyfire said.
Despite day-one troubles with overloaded servers resulting in temporary removal from the App Store, the Skyfire iPhone app reportedly generated about $1 million in its first weekend. The browser lets users view Flash video on iOS devices through remote transcoding. A company-estimated 300,000-plus downloads were sold over the weekend, putting sales at about $1 million before Apple's take, worth roughly $300,000.
Skyfire is already at work on an iPad version of its iOS web browser, according to an official Twitter post. "If your primary device is the iPad, please consider waiting," part of the message reads. Still unmentioned is when the new app will become available, if it will cost extra, and what features it might have beyond a scaled-up interface.
Recently pulled by its developer due to overwhelming demand, the Skyfire web browser has temporarily reappeared at the App Store. The title circumvents iOS' inability to play Flash video by means of remote transcoding to HTML5. Initial traffic overloaded Skyfire servers though, prompting the company to voluntarily pull the app to prevent poor performance.
Skyfire on Wednesday announced an update to its Skyfire mobile web browser for Android devices that brings with it full Flash 10.1 support. The browser is said to be faster and more energy efficient as well as provide better video quality than native Flash 10.1. Since the launch of Skyfire v2.0 beta at the end of April, more than 500,000 Android users have downloaded the browser.
Skyfire claimed a minor victory in mobile browsers today by launching the beta of Skyfire 2.0 for Android and detailing its plans for the iPhone. The browser is unique on Android in supporting Flash video without having to actually use the sometimes criticized plugin. It automatically scans for Flash-based video and, if found, automatically converts it to raw H.264 video that plays full-screen.
A company called Skyfire Labs has announced a new, self-titled mobile web browser. The browser promises to deliver desktop-level browsing to smartphones, by using a proxy server to format content in a format that phones can still recognize. Pages are said to render exactly as they would on a PC, complete with desktop versions of code such as Ajax and Java, and embedded audio and video through formats such as QuickTime and Flash 9.
