Skyfire review

Richard Goodwin

We review, Skyfire Web Browser - the app that brings PC style web browsing to your Symbian device

Published on Sep 22, 2009

One of our main gripes with Symbian devices, particularly the Nokia N95 8GB in this case, is that the web browser isn’t very good, in fact, it’s pretty rubbish - especially, if you compare it to the more powerful, and infinitely more satisfying browsers on the iPhone, HTC devices, and the Palm Pre.

However, it seems our prayers have been answered with the Skyfire Web Browser.

Once installed, we found that the app certainly makes good on its promise to give a ‘PC style’ web browsing experience - the difference is quite remarkable, especially if you’ve given up all hope of a pleasurable web browsing experience on your symbian device.

Probably the most notable difference from the get-go is the speed with which Skyfire loads pages when compared to the Nokia default browser - it’s probably twice as fast.

Additionally, while the browser may look a bit clunky at first, it makes up for it in the way it displays web pages - full, rich, and how you’d expect to see them on a PC, or a high grade mobile device.

Once you Skyfire started and authenticated, you have the option to begin either searching in a single tool bar, or typing in a direct URL. You also have the option to customise your homepage, which we thought was a very nice touch.

Skyfire displays all webpages in full - i.e. how they’d look on your PC - and after persisting with Nokia’s default browser for some time now, we found this function to be really impressive - particularly, as all embedded videos on data rich sites, such as BBC news, load quickly and play admirably well.

Technology wise, Skyfire runs a version of FireFox on its servers which is sent to your mobile, which means faster web page rendering, and improved functionality with a variety of web applications, such as Flash 9, Java, and QuickTime - all very impressive!

Additionally, web pages are displayed in full, complete with a useful auto zoom function that allows you to quickly navigate around the site, and peruse the information you want.

While it’s not perfect, and many will still feel left out in the cold after experiencing the brilliance of touchscreen technology, it’s still a remarkable improvement on Nokia’s dismal browser.

All in all, Skyfire is a serious piece of kit and a must for anyone that feels slightly disenfranchised by their default browser. It’s free and very fast, which makes its value for money practically immeasurable.