Can the new SkyFire 1.0 content Opera’s mobile phone browser supremacy? - A Study

Opera’s supremacy over mobile browser market is being challenged by Skyfire a mobile browser, built by a Silicon Valley startup. It has been little over a year, since the mobile browser Skyfire made its debut for Windows and Symbian mobile phones. Skyfire version 0.9 beta was a free third-party mobile browser. While in beta the mobiles browser was widely appreciated for it performance and efficiency. Over the time, it has emerged as a swift and easily to handle mobile browser. Now that Skyfire’s version 1.0 has been released, it’s time assess its appeal in the market.

Upgrades in the Skyfire version 1.0

The new browser has undergone some significant changes in the user interface design after the first iteration. The updated browser features customizable RSS feed, replacing the list of featured links that appeared in the Start Screen. Now you can avail the filters and post article links to facebook and Twitter. Further, you can also upload a new social networking status from the screen. The joint address search bar appears on the top that allows more reading space. The video playback has become somewhat smoother than its earlier versions. The panning, zooming and processing functions have improved.

Skyfire takes the mobile browsing experience to next level. Suppose you navigate away from a page or exit SKyfire, allowing it to run in background. The new browser remembers the last page position and reels back to the last zoom level and location from where you had left.

Skyfire 1.0 also worked its operating speed. That implies when you load a page, you can click the link without any zoom in first. This is a real benefit for those with high resolution mobile phones. Further, it saves the user from zooming in a familiar Web site before clicking the link.
It also allows you to enter a URL or search term in the search box 2-3 seconds after the page begins loading.

Downside to Skyfire 1.0

It’s not that skyfire is complete, there are things missing in Skyfire.

Although Skyfire supports Flash and Silverlight plugins, but has no support for application that require text entry. The browser doesn’t work for media players requiring the local storage mode such as Pandora, Netflix and Rhapsody. In Skyfire you find no options to cancel the page from loading. The longer messages in Twitter and Facebook feed are cut short. It doesn’t show the entire message but directs you to your contacts profile page.

The browser is far from a deal breaker by any means. However, Skyfire can be expected to get rid of these problems in the upcoming release.

Comparison With Opera

Skyfire seems to be a strong contender to Opera Mobile 9.5 beta. However, Opera scores over Skyfire in some features like superior video playback solution. Further, Opera is more suited to newsgathering and sharing on social networks. Unlike Opera mobile browsers, Skyfire lacks options that makes browsing easier such as the ability to copy and paste, and to search a block of text for a word or phrase.  Adding on these features Skyfire could uproot Opera’s stronghold in Windows Mobile and Synbian phones.