SkyFire - a mobile web browser - is out of beta today with their latest software release. SkyFire aims to change the way we browse the web on our phones: making less about sites with special mobile versions, and more about the user experience.
More users are logging onto the web with mobile phones than ever before, and there is still a gap in mobile web browsers. They simply can't do everything. It looks like SkyFire is aiming to close that gap by changing the way we use mobile web. Rather than loading mobile-specific websites or having applications for some sites, SkyFire actually allows users to view fully featured websites natively.
Like Safari for iPhones, SkyFire zooms and scrolls to help users navigate websites on the small screen.
SkyFire boasts about its speed and ability to quickly load websites and allow users to multi-task, but I don't think that's the most important feature of the application. The ability to view and use fully featured websites that other mobile browsers can't is promising, regardless of how fast the websites load.
SkyFire offers a lot that other web browsers - including Safari for the iPhone - simply don't, or can't. Namely: fully featured GMail and Google Docs. Yes, you can edit that Google spreadsheet on your phone, without trying to navigate a through a clunky interface.
Perhaps the most interesting feature of SkyFire is its ability to play video from any site. You're not restricted to certain types of embedded video: you can watch any kind of video, any time - including live streaming. You can even access Hulu and watch videos using SkyFire as well. While there is a Hulu iPhone app predicted in the near future, SkyFire can view it natively, without any fancy application.
While some users enjoy using applications to view and receive web content, others relish the idea of being able to use one app - their web browser - to do it all. Kinda makes the whole iPhone app store seem a little redundant, doesn't it?
Currently, SkyFire is available on many different phone brands, including: HTC, LG, Motorola, Nokia, Palm and Samsung. It also runs on newer models with VGA and WVGA screen resolutions all running on Windows Mobile or Symbian platforms. It is not yet available for BlackBerry users, but a beta is expected to be announced soon.
For more information, SkyFire.com, or follow Skyfire on .Twitter