Skyfire

Skyfire, a Mountain View, Calif., start-up that competes directly with Opera Mobile browser, announced Wednesday the opening of its public beta for Windows Mobile phones. This is good news if you've been waiting months to join Skyfire's private beta program.

In addition to going public, Skyfire has upgraded from version 0.6 to version 0.8, a move that brings significant performance improvements and a more fleshed-out start screen design.

On the start screen, Skyfire has shifted from a spindly design of bare text links to a fleshed-out look that includes shaded boxes and icons. The headline content--world, … Read more

Editors' note: Since this article published, Skyfire has offered the first hundred CNET readers immediate access to Skyfire's Symbian beta program. (Note: Only U.S. phones at this time.) Enter the promo code CNET100 in the sign-up page. Once you have signed up for the Skyfire Symbian Beta with the beta code, an SMS message will be sent to your mobile phone prompting you to create a password. Once you enter a password, you will be presented with a download link.

On Thursday, mobile browser start-up Skyfire announced the opening of a private beta for the Symbian Series 60 (S60) platform--nearly a week after a Symbian users Web site busted the news.

Skyfire is positioned as a resource-light Web browser that relies on Web servers to deliver a desktop browsing experience. I covered Skyfire soon after its initial Windows Mobile release and agree that it has a nice design and good potential; however, with rendering and crashing issues, it's not nearly ready for open beta. That's too bad because adding an identical build for Symbian means that Skyfire has two platforms in private beta with some tall performance hurdles to leap.

Going global (and taking on Opera) Skyfire's Symbian beta program is the mobile browser's second platform, and its entree into the European market, where it will be rolling out later this year. This move improves Skyfire's competitive position against Opera Mobile, whose release of a free version 9.5 beta for Symbian is also scheduled for "the near future."

Opera Mini, Opera Software's build for Java phones and BlackBerry, has pretty much dominated alternative browsers in Europe, but Skyfire could destabilize that position. As a direct competitor to Opera Mobile 8.65, which sells for $24, Skyfire's free beta brings a few advantages to the table. It's true that Opera Mobile 9.5 beta is also currently offered for free, but with its Symbian build also in development, there could be an interesting battle over Symbian owners.

Pricing isn't the only point of comparison between Opera and Skyfire. Opera wants to bring Symbian owners the "authentic" desktop experience through a rich client and Skyfire will attempt to do so by pulling data from its servers. That makes Skyfire lighter on system resources, but it won't have as many search and linking capabilities out of the gate as Opera Mobile 9.5 beta, which integrated some tricks from the desktop browser. Conversely, Opera's cell phone browsers verge on cluttered, so there's a benefit to Skyfire's pared-down look.… Read more

Article updated 5/2/08 at 8:00am with additional information.

The youngest mobile browser to hit the scene can do quite a few more tricks after this week's feature-enhancement and bug-fixing release.

At the request of testers enrolled in Skyfire's closed beta program, version 0.6 has included several housekeeping functions. There are the basics of pasting a URL or search term, deleting bookmarks, and beefing up the soft-key menu with a shortcut to search the current Web page. There's also the highly demanded security nod that disguises passwords as you type. Though this hasn't … Read more

There's nothing fun about being on a wait list, especially when you're told the wait just got longer.

Skyfire (video), a new cell phone browser demoed in February, hit such demand in its closed beta program, the company split participation into two rounds. According to a Skyfire statement, those lucky ducks who signed up before March 1 made the cut for Beta 1 and will receive the golden invitation to join the testing in phases from now until the end of April.

This first phalanx of users will also be invited to continue their testing as the second … Read more

It wasn't too long ago we editors--or anyone!--got acquainted with Skyfire (review), the newest mobile browser to challenge Opera Mini's dominance. Check out the fresh minimalist design and clever search options, plus one disappointing feature that's far from a thriller. (Go ahead and award yourself 10 points if you spot that reference in the video.)

>>See all First Look videos

Skyfire (video), the latest mobile browsing upstart, has been touted as faster, cleaner, and smarter than its competitors, and that's before it was released in private beta. It's easy to praise an app when it's first being demoed, and another story when users and reviewers can get their hands on a living specimen. Frankly, the hype is overblown. While Skyfire has its perks--very nice ones--it hasn't won the competition yet.

Like Opera Mini (see video), Skyfire uses a proxy server to help render pages and control text flow. Also like Opera Mini, Skyfire utilizes a mouse … Read more

Opera should be bracing for impact.

Quite possibly for the first time, Opera Software will receive real pressure in the mobile-browser space from Firefox Mobile and Skyfire.

Like Opera's cell phone browser, Opera Mini (video), both newcomers are free. However, Opera Mobile, which serves Windows Mobile and Symbian S60 phones, is a commercial product that smartphone users may not want to pay for when handed alternatives gratis.

How does Opera plan to keep current customers and attract new ones when consumers face a choice between paying $24 and $0? I asked the Opera folks if they would consider making Opera Mobile free in anticipation of or in response to oncoming competition.

"The mobile Web is blossoming, and we are strongly positioned to take advantage of its growth," Tatsuki Tomita, Opera's senior vice president of consumer products, responded. "While we watch the industry closely, we have not yet determined the end-user model for Opera Mobile."

What a nicely toned, safely vague statement! It's one any company would be expected to make when challenged on two fronts by a competitive freeware surge. Yet with actual working, marketable products for a range of devices and a business plan that reaches into corporate pockets, Opera is well-positioned. For now.… Read more

Amid rookie mobile browser Skyfire's bold attempt to take on the market and Opera Software's defensive rebuttal (sent via press release) emerges news from Mozilla developer and project lead, Doug Turner.

A few months ago, Turner told us that the Minimo browser was on its way out (you can still download it here) and that newer projects would take its place.

According to Doug's blog, the replacement efforts have arrived. Well, not quite, but two prototypes have.

The first, called simply "Nontouch screen UI," is dedicated to the broad range of devices. While Turner describes … Read more

The twice-yearly new product orgy called Demo 08 kicks off tomorrow, but we have a few previews of presenting companies we wanted to write up before the CEOs take the stage. First up: SkyFire, a browser for smartphones.

CEO Nitin Bhandari told me that his goal with Skyfire is to do "true desktop rendering," including media support, on a tiny screen.

Bhandari showed me a demo during our Skype call, and it appears that his browser does just what he intended. Displaying a sports site, Skyfire played the video and audio on it very well. The browser also … Read more