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Skyfire browser goes live for iPhone with Flash Video capabilities

Mobile browser Skyfire’s iPhone version has gone live on the App Store, a day earlier than it was expected to. The app was approved by Apple earlier this week, and is the latest non-Safari browser to be available for iPhone and iPod touch.

The big feature is Flash Video. Skyfire can play videos on websites using the Flash format, even though iOS devices can’t normally display this content. How? Whizzy transcoding technology which converts videos on the fly to an iPhone-friendly format.

However, Skyfire also has recommendation features to suggest trends, videos, tweets and pictures based on whatever page you’re currently browsing, one-click sharing features, built-in Facebook features, and adaptive streaming to restrict video quality if you’re on a slower connection.

Do you need a second browser on your iPhone? Actually, there’s a good argument for having two besides Safari. Skyfire looks to be essential if you’re a heavy user of sites that are still using Flash videos only, while we’re big fans of Opera Mini when roaming abroad, as it cuts down the data used to view sites.

Skyfire costs £1.79, and while many users may balk at the idea of paying for a browser on any device, it looks to be well worth the cash.

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