Andre Yoskowitz
2 May 2010 17:34
As Apple and Adobe continue to fight over the positive or negative affects of Flash in the mobile universe, browser maker Skyfire has released Skyfire 2.0 for Android, which has pseudo-Flash support giving "access to Flash videos on a web page that otherwise would not play."
The company has said it is creating an iPhone version, that it hopes to submit to the App Store later in the year.
When we say pseduo-Flash support, we really mean it. When the browser identifies any Flash content in a web page, it sends that content to Skyfire's cloud servers which then converts it to HTML5 on-the-fly and streams it back in that format.
Apple has so far refused to allow Flash on "i" devices and at this point has said support is never coming. Skyfire says the cloud support allows for "faster and smoother video playback and extended battery life by off-loading more of the work to cloud servers."
While Android is way more open in terms of Flash than the iPhone OS, Android smartphone users will not see OS-level support of the format until the release of firmware 2.2 (Froyo), which is expected later this year. Skyfire could help those who do not want to wait.
If it is accepted to the App Store, Skyfire CEO Jeff Glueck says, via Yahoo: "Apple can get the best of both worlds."