Skyfire Mobile web browser

"Ever waited a really long time for something that you need, just to find that when it does arrive, you've grown too used to using something else?" - Broken Wisdom, 2008.

I'm forced to use a Windows Mobile phone for work, and one of my pet problems with the platform is the lack of a decent, full featured web browser.  It could be said that one of the reasons for the iPhone's success is the internet functionality of the almost full feature web browser (Safari).  That being said, I don't have said iPhone and apart from Opera (not free) there is little in the way of a full featured internet browser for Windows mobile.

Some time ago, I was searching for a rumored Firefox browser for WM6 (never did find it) and I came across mention of Skyfire.  There wasn't much about it other than "it was going to try and bring the internet to WM6".  Well, I must have said "sign me up", as a couple of days ago I received an email asking if I wanted in on the Beta.

I have always wanted to use my phone as more of a internet device, because it isn't much of a phone, but without a decent web browser, it isn't much of a internet device either.  So yes, I jumped at the Beta, and off I went.

First Impressions

Once I loaded the file onto the phone and installed Skyfire, I promptly couldn't get it to work.  As with most things at the minute, with the end of the year coming and all, I had no time to spend on things that don't work.  So it was a couple of days later when I had the time to check the forums to see that I needed to install Skyfire onto the main memory of the phone, and not the flash card (which is where I install everything else).

Once working and logged in, I have to say that I was impressed.  Ignoring the size of the screen for now, I was treated to a full featured web experience, including You Tube videos.  Google maps worked well, and of course, "the-broken-link.com" looks great.

The speed of the interface was surprisingly smooth and there didn't seem to be any of the memory problems that many programs have on the Jasjam.

Later Impressions

The more I played with Skyfire, the more I wondered how much I was going to have to pay for it when it's ready for retail.  It seems very finished, and even on my older hardware it is very slick.  I found that I could only use it on a wireless and not on the 3G network, though that is probably a good thing.

Along with the slickness, the features stand out, and I guess that is what really sets it up for me as a web browser that you would find on a PC rather than a phone.

The only negative I found with Skyfire was more to do with the phone and screen size.  Skyfire gives you the full webpage and then you can, using the stylus, zoom in on parts of the page to read, or look at, and watch content.  This becomes very tedious after a while, and I found that I started avoiding using the phone to browse, and waited until I could get on a PC.  It is great for the little things, but I'm going to have to wait till I can get a phone with a bigger screen before it would become the internet device of choice.

Overall, worth checking out, and on the bigger screened device it might give you an iPhone-like experience.  Though they may have left their run too late as I hear that Internet Explorer 6 for Windows Mobile is on its way.
Jason Remnant

...if it's broken, why fix it?

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