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Flash is still banished from Apple's iPhone, but a mobile browser is opening the door--at least partially--to the technology.
Apple has approved Skyfire, a mobile Web browser that converts Flash videos to HTML5 on the fly, according to CNN and other news sources.
Skyfire is set to hit Apple's App Store tomorrow for $2.99, CNN reported. The app has been awaiting Apple's thumbs-up since it was submitted for approval more than two months ago.
Skyfire uses a trick to coax Flash videos to run on the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. Those devices don't support Flash due to Apple's ban of the Adobe Systems' plug-in. In the same vein, Apple earlier this year blocked technology that let developers translate their Flash apps into native iPhone apps, though Apple recently relented on that stance.
Here is Skyfire's solution: when someone browses a Web page with Flash video, Skyfire's own servers fire up and translate the content into HTML5. Clicking on a thumbnail of the HTML5 video then streams it directly from Skyfire's servers to the Apple device.
The app won't convert games or any other nonvideo content. And certain sites, notably Hulu, block Skyfire. That's hardly surprising since Hulu has been trying to drum up interest in its $10-per-month Hulu Plus service, which is available as its own mobile app.
Skyfire 2.0 for iPhone follows in the footsteps of Skyfire for Android, which hit the market earlier this year. Though native Flash support is available in Android 2.2 and higher, people running older versions of Google's mobile OS still need a workaround to view Flash content.
Like its Android counterpart, Skyfire for the iPhone runs on top of mobile Safari rather than as a separate browser. Skyfire's servers can adjust the resolution of the streamed video depending on the screen size of one's phone and the network connection, according to the company. The app also lets people share a video by e-mail or through Facebook and Twitter. Finally, up to eight different browser windows can be opened to surf a variety of sites at the same time.
Apple did not respond to a request for comment.
Update at 10 a.m. PDT: A Skyfire representative told CNET today that some of the information reported by other news outlets has inaccuracies though he would not detail them. The rep said the app will be unveiled later today.
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Apple has approved Skyfire, a mobile Web browser that converts Flash videos to HTML5 on the fly, according to CNN and other news sources.
Skyfire is set to hit Apple's App Store tomorrow for $2.99, CNN reported. The app has been awaiting Apple's thumbs-up since it was submitted for approval more than two months ago.
Skyfire uses a trick to coax Flash videos to run on the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. Those devices don't support Flash due to Apple's ban of the Adobe Systems' plug-in. In the same vein, Apple earlier this year blocked technology that let developers translate their Flash apps into native iPhone apps, though Apple recently relented on that stance.
Here is Skyfire's solution: when someone browses a Web page with Flash video, Skyfire's own servers fire up and translate the content into HTML5. Clicking on a thumbnail of the HTML5 video then streams it directly from Skyfire's servers to the Apple device.
The app won't convert games or any other nonvideo content. And certain sites, notably Hulu, block Skyfire. That's hardly surprising since Hulu has been trying to drum up interest in its $10-per-month Hulu Plus service, which is available as its own mobile app.
Skyfire 2.0 for iPhone follows in the footsteps of Skyfire for Android, which hit the market earlier this year. Though native Flash support is available in Android 2.2 and higher, people running older versions of Google's mobile OS still need a workaround to view Flash content.
Like its Android counterpart, Skyfire for the iPhone runs on top of mobile Safari rather than as a separate browser. Skyfire's servers can adjust the resolution of the streamed video depending on the screen size of one's phone and the network connection, according to the company. The app also lets people share a video by e-mail or through Facebook and Twitter. Finally, up to eight different browser windows can be opened to surf a variety of sites at the same time.
Apple did not respond to a request for comment.
Update at 10 a.m. PDT: A Skyfire representative told CNET today that some of the information reported by other news outlets has inaccuracies though he would not detail them. The rep said the app will be unveiled later today.
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