Skyfire 1.5 Released Today

Update 1:00pm CST: Its here! Read the official Press Release.

Download it from http://get.skyfire.com!

Read what our forum users are saying about it here.

Skyfire’s Twitter account is a buzz about version 1.5 coming today. Nothing seems to be published on Skyfire.com yet, and it hasn’t been pushed to phones yet, but its coming, and based on the hype, we won’t be disappointed!

Enhancements in the new version include full support for high-resolution screens, a sleeker user interface that is more finger friendly, crisper text, smoother zooming, and a full-screen mode that maximizes screen real estate. Skyfire will now provide native support for the VGA and wVGA resolutions and has added Kinetic scrolling to improve smoother browsing. In addition to adding more touch capabilities, Skyfire has added a mode for touch screens that allows users to remove all UI icons and elements from the screen to enlarge visibility of the browser.

The new version will also be speedier thanks to a server upgrade and keep any text entry box visible when the virtual keyboard is used. And the latest versions of Adobe Flash 10 and Microsoft’s Silverlight. 1.5 rich media technologies have been updated in the browser. Additionally, Skyfire features a customizable and high-resolution homepage, known as the “Fireplace,” integrating RSS feeds, Facebook and Twitter feeds, and Gmail, into one stream.

Source: TechCrunch and Gizmodo (Thanks for the tip pknyo)

Changelog:

• Full VGA Support. Skyfire now provides native support for the VGA and wVGA resolutions as seen on many recent Windows Mobile phones.
Smooth Scrolling. Kinetic scrolling has been added to Skyfire. Flick and you will see that scrolling has become very smooth.

• Finger friendly UI. There are many UI updates to enable finger friendliness, increase the ease of use and add a bit of fun to the Skyfire experience. We updated as well the start page to be simpler-to-use with high-resolution devices.

• Full screen mode. For touch screens we have a mode that will completely remove all UI elements from the screen to provide maximum visibility onto the page. Tap the bottom right corner to bring back the toolbar.

• Auto-Move text entry. This keeps any text entry box visible when the virtual keyboard is used. This convenient feature assures that web site forms are easy to use, in case the SIP (i.e., virtual keyboard) covers it.

• Latest versions of Flash 10 and Silverlight. 1.5 has been updated to the newest and most stable versions of both rich-media formats.

• Performance enhancements. Both Skyfire’s client and servers have been upgraded for faster, more responsive browsing.