14 DAY TRIAL // Those who’ve been using Skyfire to load Flash videos on their iPad but didn’t have a great experience with the app should give it another go by installing the free 2.1.1 update from Skyfire Labs, as it delivers many bug fixes, the company has announced.
Skyfire is a web browser app for iOS devices capable of translating Flash-encoded videos into iOS-frendly formats.
Apple’s iOS does not support Adobe’s Flash format, therefore Skyfire acts as a solution for those who felt Apple left a gap in the operating system.
All the heavy work is done on the Skyfire servers, so the device only has to worry about playing what’s being streamed to it over the wireless connection.
“Skyfire is the browser that not only allows you to view Flash Videos on iOS, but provides as well the best integration of social features for a quicker, more informative and most of all fun internet experience,” goes the maker’s description.
As noted above, version 2.2.1 brings a number of bug fixes. According to the developers, those include:
• Faster URL entry with auto-complete • Fixed empty history problem • Private Browsing mode more robust • Performance improvements
Although Skyfire is known as the bringer of Adobe Flash to Apple’s iOS devices, interested parties should be aware that the app does come with its limitations.
For example, while Flash videos are supported - this being the main purpose of the Skyfire app - Flash games and apps are not.
Additionally, not all Flash sites are supported, though the team is working hard at adding support for all the popular ones.
You can check if Skyfire works on specific sites at this address: http://www.bit.ly/site_check.
Hulu, the popular video streaming service, is also not supported. Other limitations can be found in the app’s official iTunes description here.
Skyfire is also available for iPhone and iPod touch as a separate application. The iPad version costs $4.99 and requires iOS 3.2 or later.