Skyfire Brings Flash To The iOS

Like Flash but can't bear to part with your iPhone? You're in luck. There is a new browser, set to launch Thursday, that converts Flash from websites into HTML5 without too much of a hassle.

Skyfire first debuted on Blackberry and Windows Mobile back in 2008, and then was updated and fixed up for the Android launch back in May. The app has been downloaded more than 4.5 million times across all of the platforms. Needless to say, the Skyfire browser has been popular, but never has it been so necessary as it is now for the iOS platform.

To get around the Apple wall of hate and agony, Skyfire takes the Flash image from your page, downloads it, fully renders it, and than shoots you back a thumbnail that allows you to stream the video from their servers.

"We will attack those pesky blue Flash error messages," said Jeffrey Glueck, Skyfire's CEO.

Unfortunately, even with the external server rendering, Skyfire will still not display Hulu movies or let you play the billions of Flash games that plague the web. Even still, the developers think that their app will open up millions of web pages to iPhone users who were previously in the dark.

One concern that many have had with Skyfire is online safety. Instead of working on its own, Skyfire somehow works on top of Safari to render the video. Because of this, many users were concerned that online banking done via Safari would potentially be shot up into the Skyfire servers, but the folks at Skyfire say not to worry. Skyfire ensures that the information they receive will not be sold and that secured sites, such as online banking sites, will not be rendered with their servers.

Be sure to check the App Store on Thursday at 9AM EST to get your hands on this Flash rendering app monster. How it got approval from Apple is beyond me, but after a rigorous two month approval period, it looks like it's here to stay.

[Source: CNN Money]