Skyfire which is a widely used browser on Windows Mobile is going over to Android and iPhone and leaving windows mobile behind. In a recent post on their site ( via WMPU )
Our team took a hard look at where we could double down our limited resources on these “hockey stick” growth opportunities, and on Skyfire 2.0.
As a result, we have decided to stop all future development on the old “proxy” Skyfire 1.0 (including version 1.5) architecture, and focus on the 2.0 product, which is our future. With 2.0, Skyfire has introduced the first “hybrid browser” in the world, combining the best of native webkit rendering with the best of cloud web services, including our famed rich media engine, mash-ups, and more.
Yesterday we began notifying 1.0 users outside of North America and Western Europe that we will phase out the 1.0 service. Because 1.0 is only on Windows Mobile and Symbian, only those handsets are affected. Our 2.0 product is growing incredibly fast and continues worldwide. Skyfire 1.X will no longer be supported outside of North America and Western Europe effective July 1st, 2010.
We will bring Skyfire 2.0 to more operating systems over the next year, after Android and iPhone……
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…. As an ad-supported app, we have seen that in Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and other emerging markets, the mobile ad market and search monetization are very early stage. They are not mature enough to support the Skyfire 1.0 service operating cost. Skyfire had only officially-supported North America and Western Europe launches, but users in over 150 additional countries had “unofficially” downloaded the product. It was time to focus our resources on officially-supported countries, and on Skyfire 2.0 going forward.
Note: Skyfire 1.0 and 1.5 will remain available as a free service in the following countries after July 1st: United States, U.K., Canada, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Finland, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Korea and Taiwan.
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{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Who cares ??? I have used opera for as long as I can remember ? Any idea if we can use opera in WM7 ? I hope they do allow us to use Opera.
NO.
No native apps., You will then be stuck with the awful IE.
I, for Microsoft’s and our’s sake, sure hope not.
I have to agree with what Pedro le fourbe said. At least during launch it wont be supported , but they might open it up a bit like how Apple has done now with iPhone
This sucks, I regulary used Skyfire but now they cut out 90% of the world of their service… looks like the only flash supporting browser for WM now is uZard Web. That browser is still in beta stage but feels like it was still in alpha stage.
I haven’t used uZard yet. Is it that bad ? does it crash often ?
No no, it doesn’t crash. It can’t be left alone for 10 seconds without being disconnected from it’s server. Several GUI issues are what give the app, as a whole, an unfinished feel. Although don’t mind my opinion, I suggest trying it out. At least for WM users outside of Skyfire’s new coverage, we don’t have much choice now.
@ Edwin Thanks for the info mate. I will keep an eye on that and might pick it up and give it a go soon