Windows Mobile Louisville

Skyfire has finally released the official version 1.0 of their browser. It has been in beta for quite a while, but all the while, it has been quite impressive. Now, anyone with a Windows Mobile device (touchscreen or not) can download the application for a richer Internet experience.

Richer in what way, you ask? Skyfire supports Flash 10 and Silverlight 2.0, so you can get your YouTube and Hulu on, to name just a few sites that are often taboo on handset browsers. And the Skyfire folks added a real-time activity wall recently, too. With it, you can find all of your favorite RSS feeds, Twitter updates and Facebook statuses.

Have a look at the new version, demonstrated by Skyfire’s CEO, Nitin Bhandari, and tell me you don’t want to download this app

Source: JKontheRun

Seems the browser arena is getting mighty crowded recently!  Torch Mobile has announced a stable version of their Iris browser.  Based on the WebKit rendering engine, this one is available only for Windows Mobile devices.

The browser was available in its Beta form until recently and has now graduated to a stable version.  Here are some specs:

• Fast, Powerful WebKit JavaScript(R) and HTML Rendering Engine
• Touch Screen Key or Mouse Cursor Control with Zoom Functionality
• Multiple Windows and Tabs
• Global Language Support
• Customizable Interface with Unique Personalized Special Effects Abilities
• RSS, SVG, XML, and Plugin Support including Flash Lite(TM)
• Advanced Security Features including SSL and Authenticated Proxy Support
• WML and XHTML Mobile Profile Support
• iPhone(R) Site Compatibility

Check it out and see if this browsing option suits your needs!  I LOVE the fact that we have so many choices!

For those of you who’ve been around the Pocket PC/Windows Mobile world long enough, you’ll recall a pre-Skyfire browser called Thunderhawk.

Well, the folks at Bitstream have been in the woodshed, and have a beta of their new creation: BOLT.  Here’s what they say:

Uncompromised Mobile Browsing
Full PC-style browsing on all types of mobile phones
Web content is never reformatted, repurposed or removed

Lightning Fast
Loads pages faster than competing mobile browsers
Patented navigation and display technologies get you where you’re going faster

Super Efficient
23:1 over the air data reduction speeds delivery of pages to your phone
Consumes 1/3 of the battery power of other mobile browsers

Check it out here.

Today Skyfire has released a new version of their browser for Windows Mobile. Skyfire is a mobile browser that gives you the most feature complete way to view the web on your phone as it would look on your desktop PC. This means YouTube, Hulu, Flash 10, Silverlight 2, Quicktime, AJAX, it’s all in there.

This latest release includes Facebook and Twitter integration, making it simple to share the things you view on your phone. The browser now supports widescreen (up to WVGA 800×480) and adapts font size for text so once you zoom in, you can read without horizontal scrolling. Contextual zoom will fit the text to your screen, and a newly improved rendering system makes this already snappy browser even faster.

Also new in this version is the ability to not just listen to audio, but download it to your phone (if the media is freely accessible), and for Windows Media Streaming audio, you can listen to streaming radio in the background while you keep on browsing.

To install over the air, point your phone to http://get.skyfire.com.

Source: On10.net

The mobile version of firefox, otherwise known as Fennec, has been released in a pre-beta version.  The browser is intended for the Touch Pro and it’s variants around the world.

Not sure why it is intended only for the Touch Pro at this point, but it will likely be released for other devices further on down the road.  As it is, initial reports state the browser is horribly slow, but remember, this is a pre-beta release…

You can download it here.

Looks like the Touch Diamond from Sprint will actually get Internet Explorer 6.0.  Previously, Microsoft said that IE mobile 6.0 would only be available on new devices (not existing) due to the changes required in the operating system for it to run.

BUT, over at PPC Geeks, there is an unofficial ROM upgrade available for the Diamond, and it has IE Mobile 6.0 as well as numerous enhancements to other features of the software.  As is usually the case, that means an official ROM release is likely very near.  Hurray for Diamond owners!

Microsoft announced a downloadable test version of its “next generation web browser” for Windows Mobile - an “Internet Explorer Mobile 6 Emulator” for developers.

Recently, there have been numerous competitor browsers which have been kicking the butt of the default (weak) Internet Explorer currently found on WM 6.1 devices:  NetFront, Iris Browser, Opera Mobile 9.5, Skyfire, and (soon) Firefox Mobile.

Internet Explorer Mobile 6 is alleged to have some of the following enhancements:

• Faster operation
• A zoom-out button that lets users see the overall layout of a web page, then zoom in to a desired portion of it.
• The ability to view web pages full-screen, without menu bars
• Adobe Flash support
• Support for Microsoft Silverlight
• H.264 video compatibility

We’ll see - eventually!

If you are using the Windows Mobile 0.6 Beta, please take time to upgrade today. Look for the upgrade link on the Skyfire start page. It’s quick and easy to do.

You’re going to like the improvements to zooming, video playback, text entry, and bookmarks, to name a few.  We’ve added new features, too. These are two of our favorites:

• Super Bar - Get to content quicker. In a single field, you can search or enter a URL. It’s always present in the header so it’s easier to find what you’re looking for. Type a few characters and with auto-complete, it’s quick.

• Sharing - Share your favorite web content with friends and text message any web page. Imagine you’re watching The Office on Hulu, and you Twitter it to your friend - the link and all. If they have Skyfire, they’ll be enjoying the show too.

To read the full list of improvements and features, check out the Release Notes.  Make sure you upgrade before November 17, when the Skyfire 0.6 Beta expires.

For those of you who might have had the chance to play around with Microsoft Deepfish, the project has been tanked.

Who knows, we might see elements of it in Windows Mobile 8?!  In, perhaps, 2012?!  <grin>

Today Skyfire announced that they’re opening up registration of their free browser to all. In addition, they’re announcing the .8 version of their revolutionary product for Windows Mobile. The new version of Skyfire adds even more speed and ease to browsing the Internet from a mobile device.

The Skyfire browser was the first mobile browser to support full web PC browsing, including rich media contentand supporting Ajax, Flash, Quicktime, Windows Media, and others. “We don’t like to think of ourselves as a mobile Internet browser,” said Skyfire CEO and Co-Founder NitinBhandari. “Skyfire is a full feature Internet browser on the mobile device.” “Leaving private beta is a huge step for us,” continued Bhandari, “We have accomplished our goals of the private beta – launch, listen, improve. Demand for Skyfire has been extremely strong and we are excited to bring this more evolved product to more devices and users.”

Previously, people who wanted to enjoy the exact PC web experience on their handsets had to sign-up on awaiting list for Skyfire. With today’s announcement, the latest version of the Windows Mobile Skyfire browser is available to anyone.

The 0.8 iteration of Skyfire for Windows Mobile includes marked improvements. “Our users love media rich sites like MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, and ESPN on Skyfire ” said CMO AdamSexton, “and based on their input we added the most requested features and improved our user experience. Users can now find content more quickly with Super Bar, and can now easily share that content with anyone in their address book. ”

Super Bar - Super Bar makes it easier to find what you’re looking for, by combining URL and search entry in one bar. It also features auto complete, so you can find what you’re looking for by only typing a few letters.

Share Content - Skyfire now lets you easily share your favorite web content with others. You can send any web page via text message to anyone in your address book or beyond. In addition to known bug fixes and general performance gains, the 0.8 version of Skyfire for Windows Mobile also adds the following functionality:

• Better video quality
• Ability to make Skyfire the default browser
• Faster launch and auto-reconnect
• Improved zooming
• Ability to download content
• In-line text entry

Get Skyfire here.