Skyfire Updates Mobile Browser

Skyfire is offering Windows Mobile users a new version of its mobile browser, and Skyfire 1.5 includes a polished user interface and improved touchscreen controls.

The mobile browser has garnered some buzz because it uses server-side compression to enable smartphone users to access and interact with Web sites built with Ajax, Flash, Silverlight, and other advanced Web technologies. This gives it an advantage over the iPhone or Android, as these browsers have to switch over to a media player to access content from rich media sites like YouTube.

While native Flash 10 support is coming to nearly every major smartphone platform in 2010, Skyfire said it will be able to bring the latest versions of Flash and other Web technologies to handsets. Skyfire 1.5 also includes a full-screen mode that should make it easier to interact with in a purely touch environment.

The latest version of Skyfire also has full VGA support for high-resolution screens, and the company added kinetic scrolling as well. The mobile browser also has boosted the overall performance to deliver more responsive browsing. The browser is now available for Windows Mobile handsets from Skyfire's Web site, and the company indicated a Symbian version would be released shortly.

The release comes as more and more consumers use their handsets to access the Web and the browsing experience is becoming increasingly important. This is leading to some stiff competition in the space though, as Skyfire is battling on-deck alternatives like Internet Explorer mobile, as well as multiple third-party browsers. Opera Mobile leads the third-party space, but Mozilla will soon introduce its mobile version of Firefox for Windows Mobile and Symbian handsets.