Skyfire has added more social networking content to its mobile web browser, which is available for Android and uses the company's servers to render web pages complete with Flash. Skyfire 3.0 with Facebook Connect adds a new content-sharing “SkyBar” toolbar and a Fireplace Feed Reader that offers a filtered view of a user's Facebook feed, says the company.

Browser maker Skyfire has introduced Skyfire 3.0 with Facebook Connect, a mobile browser for Android 2.0 and higher. An upgrade to the 2.0 version released in April and the 2.1 version released in June, it's aimed at users who don't want to miss a thing their friends are looking at, interested in, or reading.

Skyfire 3.0 integrates Facebook into the "SkyBar," a cloud-powered toolbar that lets users watch video, view related content, and share content with friends. Among the features new to version 3.0 is the ability to click the Popular button in the Skybar to see what's popular with other Facebook members, says Skyfire. If you're reading an article, you could hit the button to see what's popular on the site with the entire Facebook community, with recommendations from your own Friends prioritized at the top of the list.

Skyfire 3.0 with Facebook Connect for Android
(Click on either to enlarge)

A Fireplace Feed Reader offers a filtered list of one's Facebook feed that only includes links to web pages, images, and videos posted by one's Facebook friends, says the company. Skyfire 3.0 also acts as an integrated portal, offering single-touch access to one's Facebook feed, profile, and location services. In addition, it puts a Like button on every page of the Internet, so users can easily Like or Unlike, and share the pages with Friends via Facebook, Twitter, or email.

Skyfire describes itself as "dedicated to using cloud computing to improve multimedia experiences on mobile phones," and as creating the first "Compression as a Service," technology, or CAAS. Web pages are rendered on the company's servers, then sent to users' phones — allowing Adobe Flash videos to be played on any device running Skyfire.

Earlier this month, Skyfire was finally released for iPhone, iPhone, and iPod Touch owners in a 2.0 version. Within hours, the $2.95 app was said to be the highest grossing application in the App Store and the top app in the Utilities category. The demand far exceeded Skyfire's expectations and overwhelmed its servers, causing the company to post a note on its site saying it was "working really hard to increase capacity," and that the app was said to be temporarily sold out.

Stated Jeff Glueck, CEO of Skyfire, "This is just the latest innovation made possible by Skyfire's Rocket Platform and illustrates why Skyfire, as the first browser ever powered by a cloud service, is a must-have for smartphone users."

Skyfire 3.0 for Android with Facebook Connect on YouTube
Source: Skyfire
(Click to play)

Availability

Skyfire 3.0 is available in the Android Market for free. More information may be found here.

Michelle Maisto is a writer for our sister publication eWEEK.

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