We’re big fans of Skyfire’s browsers because these bring full Flash videos and rich-media content to your handset with very little hassle. The company is expanding its business though, and Skyfire Rocket will bring that same cloud-computing technology to carriers and handset makers.
Basically, Skyfire Rocket will sit between the phone and high-quality web content and transcode it to the proper mobile format. The adaptive streaming video should help save on battery life, ease network congestion and provide a better overall experience on feature phones and smartphones. This could help handset makers differentiate its devices and the compression and optimization tech should help carriers ease the bandwidth crunch.
There’s also a personalized toolbar that can feature targeted advertising, as well as social-sharing features.
Of course, one wonders where Skyfire fits in a future that will be filled with highly-capable browsers that will be able to handle HTML5 and even Flash (except the iPhone, of course). All of the major smartphone platforms are getting strong browsers (yes, even the BlackBerry) and Google’s webM initiative could mean these handsets can play online videos. Doesn’t this muddy the need for Skyfire’s services?
Skyfire CEO Jeff Glueck obviously doesn’t think so because most of this web video will be optimized for desktops and won’t deliver as smooth of an experience as his product will. Additionally, it’s going to take a long time for HTML5 to really gain traction and consumers are already demanding a high-quality web experience.
“We loving the way the tech is evolving and it fits our direction,” said Glueck. “Of course, we have to keep innovating and adding value … the nice thing now is that we don’t have to build the whole browser anymore and can focus on adding features.”
The company will also be directly competing with Opera for the hearts and wallets of carriers and phone makers but Gleuck said its products are better positioned for a more open future. We’ll see about that one, as Opera has been pretty popular in the mobile space.