Skyfire bring desk-top web pages to smartphones

Permalink: Skyfire bring desk-top web pages to smartphones by Jan Harris

Skyfire has announced a web browser for mobiles which delivers desk-top style web pages in seven seconds, rather than pages optimised for a mobile phone. The browser works on Windows Mobile 5 and 6.

The application allows smartphone users to browse and interact with any sites, including those featuring dynamic Flash, advanced Ajax and Java. Its functions include bookmarking, multiple tabs, fullscreen navigation, thumbnail views, and dynamic zooming.

The web pages are converted on Skyfire’s server into a proprietary, highly compressed format which is then sent down to the mobile client.

Skyfire’s user interface is designed to be simple to use. It features a toolbar, bookmarks, browsing history and pre-populated links. When browsing from page to page, users can drag pages with a finger, and zoom in and out. Even pages with interactive Flash videos can be played at a reasonable frame rate.

Skyfire is demonstrating the browser at DEMO 08. It is currently available in private beta with registration available at Skyfire’s site. A Symbian version of the browser will be available shortly.