Okay Geek Farm
Max's Apps: Skyfire 2.0 for Android Beta
Darryl Cobb
I have to say Dolphin HD has ruled the browser wars as the undisputed browser king on the Android platform. Well, until now in my opinion. There’s a new fully featured, slickly designed browser for us to engage ourselves with. That name is Skyfire 2.0 for Android!
What it does: It allows you to browse the internet on your Android device and a few other tricks up its sleeve.
Difficulty: I would say it’s an intermediate browser to use. It’s nothing out of the realm of your typical Skynet geek but I would advise net novices to proceed with caution and patience.
Time to Master: I would give it a day if you’ve never used a browser outside of Internet Explore, insert sarcastic laugh anywhere you like. Realistically, this should take maybe an hour or two in order to get the hang of it. Maybe a day of hardcore tinkering to fluidly use all the features available to you.
Features:
- Multi-tab browsing - open up to eight windows and browse simultaneously
- Patent-pending adaptive streaming technology ensures optimal utilization of network and processor bandwidth (preserves battery life)
- Pinch to zoom / multi-touch browsing
- Intuitive and finger friendly user interface for easy browsing experience
- Load full desktop webpages on your mobile device
- Flash video support
Skyfire 2.0 for Android in Action
Opinion: I will say this is my browser of choice for a couple of reasons. First reason is I am an avid reader of RSS Feeds. And nothing is better for me than to be able to select the “Explore” feature and instantly come up with topics that are searchable to bring up additional media related to the article that I am reading. I also like the flash video support. However, sometimes it does get a bit out of sync but still usable. I’m not saying this is the fast browser on the market however, being able to watch videos, expound on subject matter that I am interested in and browse without my data being track is a great trade off. Being able to toggle private browsing will be an added plus for some users. Something else that is cool is being able to automatically save a shortcut of a webpage you are reading or use frequently to your homescreen, if there’s space. Very cool!
A couple of things I would like is the ability to important my bookmarks from my Chrome or Firefox browser. Since Skyfire 2.0 has no desktop counterpart, you wont get the advantage of Chrome-to-Phone but you set up Link Push on your Chrome browser, you are good to go here.
Should you get Skyfire?
Free Version or Pay Version: Being that it is currently in Beta, there is no paid version. However, the quality of this browser does put it squarely in the “Pay version” level for me. If you happen to read a lot of RSS Feeds, I would suggest this app very strongly. If you go to a lot of websites looking at flash videos and you have a 2.1 or earlier version of Android running on your device, I would give it a shot. Other than that audience, I don’t find that to be a must download. It’s still a great browser.
