Tutorial Skyfire, a browser for Android and iPhone

         Skyfire is a browser alternative for Android and iPhone mobile. It installs as a simple application and can be used alongside the default browser of the phone. Highly oriented social networks, it is used while being fully connected to their Facebook account but it can also be used as a standard mobile browser.



 Install Skyfire

         Installation is quick and easy as most mobile applications that can be found on the Android Market or the AppStore. Catches of this tutorial were made with a HTC Desire Froyo Android 2.2 and version 3.0 of Skyfire.

         A simple search on the market provides quick access to the form of Skyfire and start the installation is done in seconds and without any particular difficulty. We then find the icon Skyfire in the list of applications. Android we can place a shortcut on one of the offices for quick access.

Icon Skyfire



Interface and Navigation

         The first time after acceptance of the terms of use and a brief presentation in English, Skyfire opens to its default start page that offers a field of research, advertising and various shortcuts to websites. We can easily change the settings in this page.



Skyfire home page

Research

To find out the interface, I suggest you search your favorite site. We dwell first on the colored tabs that will be useful in the context of a search. Each tab can repeat the search in:

 The search engine Google

 The accounts of your Facebook friends (needs to be connected, we will return)

 The videos with the search engine VideoSurf

 Digg the site that will attempt to extract the hot topics of the moment

 The network Twitter

 The Amazon



Search Skyfire

Navigation in Skyfire

Tested with a wireless connection, browsing seems fluid and the pages load faster. Consult a site to see the buttons under the address bar. It includes:

 The navigation button "Previous" Button to restart the home page



 The ability to access or add a favorite / bookmark The ability to open, close or switch between tabs. A small figure recalls the number of currently open tabs.



Skyfire Navigation Easily choose the mobile version of a classic or websiteVery classic so far, see more detail this button to switch to simulate a mobile browser or computer. It will be useful when some sites offer a web version and mobile version. By touching it, you'll be able to move at any time from one to the other version:

 Desktop: computer browser version

 Android (and iPhone): mobile browser version

 Default: default choice as you have configured in the settings.

User agent Skyfire



Options pages and various

The last button in the shape of the down arrow located at the far right of the navigation buttons provide access to other options:

 Forward: to share a page (did not work during our test)

 Find on page: search the text of the current page

 Select text: select text in the current page (did not work during our test)

 Add Shortcut ... Adds a shortcut on the main screen of the phone

 Settings: Access to parameters

 Downloads: Download History

 Spread the world: to know Skyfire

 Report video problem: report a bug on a video

 Help: referral to the online help of the software

Options page in Skyfire



The flash videos in Skyfire

 Now let a point convenient to view the videos. When you get to a page containing a video, Skyfire detects it and opens a popup window to notify you. Clicking on it will launch the video in full screen while taking care to optimize it for your configuration.