Skyfire Launches the First Flash Video Enabled Mobile Browser for Android

Well now that you got your new Verizon HTC Droid Incredible, what do you do now? Browse the web with Skyfire’s new web browser fro Android! Skyfire 2.0 for Android includes a cloud-computing toolbar – the SkyBar – which includes three key features missing from the native Android browser, and missing from Fennec.

What’s in the SkyBar?

1. Video – this icon repairs any broken Flash video which would normally display as an error message on Android (see screenshot)
2. Explore – brings smart media recommendations to the user based on what they are looking at (including Twitter buzz, trends, other videos, and other sites).
3. Share – lets the user upload any website, video or link to their social networking accounts with a single click and status update

Check out this video for more on Skyfire 2.0 for Android:

I have been using Skyfire for my WinMo devices since it was in Beta and everyone was fighting over getting an invite. It is an excellent full browser experience for your mobile device. I have not tried this yet, but I can tell you if it works as well on the Android platform as it does on all my WinMo devices, you guys are going to be grinning ear to ear. Check out the full press release after the break.

Skyfire 2.0 for Android is available for download worldwide free at bit.ly/skyfireandroid

Skyfire, maker of the award-winning web-browser for mobile devices, today launches Skyfire 2.0 for Android, making the mobile internet experience faster, Flash-enabled and fun, with media recommendations and social features. Skyfire is one of the fastest growing mobile browsers in the world, ranking in the top 10 all-time apps in the Nokia Ovi Store and Windows Marketplace.
Skyfire 2.0 for Android is built upon many of the popular features of Skyfire’s 1.0 browser, and uses cloud computing to give a “booster engine” to mobile phones so they can handle rich media like video.  And now, Skyfire 2.0 for Android takes mobile browsing to a new level with the addition of the SkyBarTM, a new toolbar that lets users enjoy millions of videos previously unviewable on mobile, and also discover the latest buzz on any topic they browse.

What is the SkyBarTM?

The SkyBar brings the best of the internet to a mobile user’s fingertips, without any additional searching. By activating the SkyBar with a single touch, users are given access to Flash videos on a web page that otherwise would not play, related content recommendations, and easier sharing with their social networks.·       Video –The “Video” icon enables users to play millions of Flash videos around the web that otherwise do not play on mobile. This unlocks content trapped behind those error messages with question marks and blue Legos.  Behind the scenes, videos are translated into a format easier for the phone to play, like html5 video.

·       Related Content – The “Explore” icon brings the most relevant content on the internet to a user’s fingertips based on what they are viewing at the time. The Explore button pulls video, buzz, news, images and other sites from the web based on what is on the current page.

·       Sharing – The “Share” icon lets users share any article or video easily to their friends on Facebook, Twitter, or by email and SMS messaging, adding a comment, and all with a single click.
The first mobile browser for the social media generation:

“Skyfire 2.0 was built for the way people use social media and the web today. People are now starting their web experience by scanning their Facebook and Twitter news feeds,” explains Jeff Glueck, CEO of Skyfire. “Our new browser allows you to open those links and view the videos that your friends have shared. To make that work, people need a browser that can handle the full internet.”
The Power of Cloud Computing:

Skyfire on Android uses cloud-computing technology to enable this web video; the benefits for consumers include faster and smoother video playback, and extended battery life by offloading more of the work to cloud servers.  At the same time, since Skyfire 2.0 is built on a webkit core, users get all the functionality they know on the default Android browser, such as pinch to zoom, copy and paste, find text on the page, open up to eight browser tabs, and more.
Skyfire is one of the fastest growing downloadable browsers with usage increasing 500% year over year, and currently streaming over 25 million minutes of Flash video every month, more than any other mobile browser worldwide.
Skyfire 2.0 for Android is available for download worldwide free at bit.ly/skyfireandroid