San Francisco — Skyfire, creator of the award-winning browser for mobile devices, today unfurled the first mobile browser focused especially for “the social networking generation,” the company said.
With today’s announcement, Skyfire promises to bring Facebook-friendly, LinkedIn-connected, Tweeting users to new heights with the release of its latest Skyfire 3.0. With this new version of the popular Android application, features easy video streaming, quick news feed access, and a simple way to “like” articles on any site, the company heralds in an entirely new way to experience the mobile Internet, geared to the needs of the social networking generation.
Dubbed the Skyfire 3.0, the new app will now work across a number of platforms including Facebook Connect for Android 2.0 and higher devices. The new browser seamlessly integrates Facebook’s Social Graph and Like Button onto every page of the Internet, allowing users — with one click — to quickly examine their Facebook page, “Like” or share any Internet content, view the most “Liked” content on any site recommended by their friends or the general Facebook community, and view videos and other Facebook links posted by friends, Skyfire said on Tuesday.
“Skyfire 3.0 with Facebook Connect makes mobile browsing social,” said Jeff Glueck, CEO of Skyfire. “This is just the latest innovation made possible by Skyfire’s Rocket Platform and illustrates why Skyfire, as the first browser ever powered by a cloud service, is a must-have for smartphone users.”
The world’s most smartest mobile browser is now the world’s most social browser. Skyfire brings the true power of Facebook to your Android device, which has witnessed rapid growth since its debut and now boasts close to two million users, the company said. The third-party app includes SkyBar, a cloud-powered toolbar that lets users watch video, view content, and share with friends. The new browser integrates Facebook directly into the SkyBar.
The Mountain View, Calif., company said Tuesday that the new product is its next step in its devotion to bringing cloud computing-based improvements to multimedia sharing on mobile devices.
Other New Features in Skyfire 3.0 with Facebook Connect Include:
- Popular Content: You just finished reading a story on one of your favorite web sites and want to quickly decide what to read next. Click on the Popular button on the Skybar and instantly see what content on the site is most popular within the 500+ million user Facebook community. Recommendations from friends are prioritized and show up at the top of the list.
- Fireplace Feed Reader: A simple but addictive tool that provides a filtered list of your Facebook feed that only includes links to browsable web pages, images, and videos posted by your Facebook friends.
- Facebook Portal Integration: With a single touch you have access to your Facebook feed, profile and fast-growing location service Places.
- Facebook Like Button: Skyfire 3.0 puts the Facebook Like Button on EVERY PAGE of the Internet. No scrolling around searching for the button on the page, simply click on the Skybar Like Button to easily “like” or “unlike” the page you are viewing or to share the page with your friends via Facebook, Twitter, or email.
- Skyfire OneTouch Search: Users enter a single search term and can choose to search Google, Facebook, VideoSurf, Digg, Twitter, or Amazon with a single touch and without having to navigate to separate sites.
Skyfire 3.0 with Facebook Connect for Android is now available for free for a limited time in the Android Market.
View Slideshow: Top 20 Android Productivity Apps: Here.
“Skyfire has been the first maker in mobile browsing sphere to focus on making video better, when older browsers were still concentrating on speed to render text and photos. And video use is growing fast on smartphones,” said Glueck.
Just the last month, we have demonstrated video from over 100,000 sites, increasing each day, and almost half the video streams come from sites not in the Top 10. There is a long tail.
Check out the video below to see its features: