If you ever wanted to access Flash content on an iOS device, you were out of luck unless you were willing to jailbreak. That changed today, as the Skyfire 2.0 web browser made its debut on the App Store, allowing iPhones to play back Flash video by compressing video and transcoding it into an iOS-ready, HTML5 format. Apparently demand for Flash among iPhone users is greater than anticipated, though, because Skyfire has announced that their $2.99 app is "sold out." How can a digital application be sold out, you ask? Skyfire says that after catapulting to the position of Top Grossing App, "historic demand" caused them to pull the app after only five hours of availability. The company is currently adding server capacity and will let everyone know via Twitter or Facebook when the app is back on Apple's digital shelves. Check out the full press release below.
Considering that the lack of Flash-compatibility is one of the biggest drawbacks of iOS for some users, Skyfire's popularity isn't terribly surprising. While the price might seem a little steep, the ability to play Flash videos right inside a browser is a pretty big deal, even if Hulu and Flash-based games don't work. Those of you that managed to download Skyfire 2.0 before it was pulled, how's everything working for you? And for anyone that didn't or can't, would you pay $2.99 to enable Flash on your device?
Skyfire Becomes Top Grossing iPhone App in App Store and Sells Out of Inventory in Five Hours
Historic demand forces mobile browser to halt new sales and expand server capacity within hours of availability
Mountain View - Skyfire, the first iPhone browser that plays video designed for Adobe Flash Player, is announcing that they have sold out of inventory within five hours of its public launch.
Skyfire for iPhone has been received with overwhelming enthusiasm -- far beyond internal projections. The result: the company is currently sold out of its first batch of Skyfire for the iPhone and is temporarily not accepting new purchases. The company is working to increase capacity and will be accepting new purchases from the Apple App StoreSM soon.
Skyfire is assuring users that the app’s sold out status was a temporary measure taken by Skyfire, and was not the decision of Apple, Inc., which has approved the app.
The app, previously available in the Apple App StoreSM for $2.99, bridges one major gap between Apple and Adobe technologies, enabling consumers to view millions of previously unavailable videos designed for Flash Player on Apple iOS devices.
The company which became the top grossing app in iTunes today ahead of popular titles like Angry Birds, experienced overwhelming consumer demand for its browser within hours of going live. The company is no stranger to consumer demand of its products as its Android browser generated over one million downloads in its first few months.
"Skyfire has historically generated high demand for its browser products but nothing like this," states Skyfire CEO Jeffrey Glueck. "It was hard to predict consumer demand since this was our first paid app, but we were blown away by the demand and sales."
The company plans to open another batch of its iPhone application in the near future. It recommends interested customers follow the company on Twitter @skyfire or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/GetSkyfire.iPhone for the new availability batch.
About Skyfire:?Skyfire is dedicated to using cloud computing to improve multimedia experiences on mobile phones, and has created the first “Compression as a Service” (CAAS) offering for wireless carriers and device makers. Skyfire’s technology has been visible to consumers through the Skyfire browser app, which has enabled Skyfire to refine its technology with over one million monthly users. The app was named the #2 App of All-Time for Android by TechCrunch, and was the top pick in a PC World September 2010 comparison of all Android browsers. Skyfire won the Best Mobile Application-People’s Voice at the 2009 Webby Awards and was named a Top App of 2009 by the New York Times’ Gadgetwise. Skyfire is based in Mountain View, California, in the heart of Silicon Valley. For more information, visit www.skyfire.com, or follow Skyfire on Twitter at twitter.com/skyfire.
