Skyfire Beta for BlackBerry released to testers
Try to compose yourselves, BlackBerry users. We know it’s hard, what with the knowledge that you’re now closer than ever to having a browser on your handsets that isn’t completely abysmal, but do try. Word came through this morning that registered Skyfire BlackBerry testers now have a new version available and ripe for the picking. The beta, version 1.0.0.12304, is said to be a pretty significant improvement over the alpha 2 version though there’s still plenty of work to be done. Patience is a virtue but let’s tell it like it is — we can’t be rid of the BlackBerry browser soon enough so hurry up Skyfire Labs! Hit the jump for the new feature list along with known bugs.
Some of the features we did add:
- New Keyboard Shortcuts:
We mapped the keyboard shortcuts to be similar to the ones in the native BlackBerry browser to offer a more familiar user experience. - Switch to Skyfire:
Once Skyfire is installed, you’ll see a “Switch to Skyfire” option show up in the options menu of the original Blackberry browser. We added this feature to help when users click on links in email and SMS and end up launching the native browser instead of Skyfire or when you navigate to a web site that is better viewed in Skyfire. - Text Entry in Thumbnail view:
You now don’t have to zoom-in to enter text. We resolved that issue and now enter text directly in the thumbnail view of pages. - Contextual zoom with camera corners:
Similar to the other Skyfire platforms, we now support contextual zoom. Thus we detect areas of interest (say articles or images) and allow you to zoom-in to areas easily by fitting the area of interest to the screen dimensions. - Faster zooming:
You’ll see a great improvement in your ability to zoom. Unlike Alpha 2, the page displays text at all zoom levels, without any redrawing of the screen. Less checkerboards.
Know Bugs In The Latest Build:
- You cannot connect to Skyfire: We still have limited capacity for this Alpha. Thus if enough testers are already browsing at the moment, you might not be able to connect. Simply try again in a few minutes. This is a good reminder as well to NOT share this alpha with anyone (as per NDA), since this would limit capacity even further. The next release will address this.
- General hiccups when entering and exiting streaming mode, including: “An error occurred while playing media” error message when flash object is detected and “streaming” mode activated.
- Slow performance on 2.5G networks. We are still optimizing. You will get the best experience on 3G or WiFi networks for now.
- “An error occurred while playing media” error message in streaming mode.
- Sometimes you cannot control volume while in stream mode. This is a known BlackBerry bug.
- Stale tiles from the previously visited pages show up when scrolling up or down. We’re working on fixes to reduce checkerboards.
forz the tOR!?!
Can’t wait.
stu stu stu storm2
You have two “the” in your second sentence.
Nice I can’t wait for this as the native BlackBerry browser is so outdated and useless @ times!!
Sent via BlackBerry.
lolz. the tor! I cant wait till they release a public beta.. Skyfire + 9630 = awesome!
skyfire + 5.0 + driftwood = me staying with t-mobile after sept
Hmmmmmmm…..interesting
What is it with everyone hating on the BB Browser? Are you still running 4.5? 4.6 is more than usable and 4.7 and 4.7.1 are splitting quite a few licketies. The trend’s working so that 5.0 will knock everyone’s socks off! So why the hate?
Oh, District-9 looks sick.
Sto Sto Sto Storm2 baby, yeahhhhh cant wait. but as for this i want it now the bb browser sucks @ss.
I really want to try this browser. It is reputed to render some sort of Flash. On the down side Skyfire is server based and does not render native like the BlackBerry browser so, security is right out the window since nearly all your pages are “decoded” on the Skyfire server and then displayed on your Blackberry screen.
So just watch out when you access your bank site, eh.
Where the heck is the Fedex guy with my Tour!!!!!
Der der Driftwood!
I’m thinking of ditching BlackBerry. Verizon has crap to choose from. Oh wait, I sense another battery pull…
What’re you talking about? Verizon has the Tour.
How is the OperaMini browser for the BB OS?
The blackberry browser is hilarious and anyone defending it is in denial.
Posted from BGR Mobile (iPhone) at: Poland United States
I heard it was okay.
Unfortunately so is ATT reception StevenGlansburg… I would love the iPhone’s browser that much more.
Posted from BGR Mobile (iPhone) at: Los Angeles, CA. United States
its all preference, except for security not being good, 4.7 is better with a bb browser but still not good. bolt and operamini are not bad, and as far as battery pull problems, if you run your OS right, not have a million unused apps, a battery pull should only be needed maybe 2 times a week for a heavy user, with current software
WTF? Just take the pic from CrackBerry’s post like you own it huh??
Where is the android love with this browser, im getting the mytouch 3g and would love to see this browser in the marketplace in the near future, it is the most capable browser out there in terms of which sites you can view
Looking forward to completion of the beta.we need something like this to stay in front of the smartphone advances. Blackberry is a whorldwide leader and should stay in the forefront
Tour+Skyfire= Happy H.N.I.C.!!!!!!!!!
I have been a tester for every version of skyfire to date… Skyfire has every form of media embedded directly into the browser, so not only will it support flash, play from hulu, to cbs video, but it also supports live chat formats directly thru aim, facebook, and more… Skyfire, and the speed of the Bold, and the new Sprint Tour which is rumored to be much faster than the bold, it will be more than amazing…. Finally I can toss my windows mobile into the trash where it belongs…..