iSwifter
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iSwifter will bring Flash-free browsing to the Mac
Apple hasn't shipped Adobe Flash Player on Macs since last October, and the current shipping version of Flash Player has some incompatibilities with Lion that have yet to be fixed. If developer iSwifter has its way, you won't need Flash Player on any of your Apple devices. iSwifter currently has a Flash-free browser app for the iPad that works in the same way as the Puffin and SkyFire browsers on that platform -- it runs all web content through a server that processes Flash content and then sends the "translated" animation, game, or movie to the device browser. Now iSwifter is planning on bringing its browser to the Mac App Store, although they're not saying exactly when the app will be available. The company wants to give users a common Flash-compatible browser that looks and acts the same on all Apple platforms. The existing iPad app is available as a free trial, and then charges $4.99 as an in-app purchase to use the browser without limits. iSwifter is planning on using the same process for the Mac app, although pricing may be different. So what would people use the iSwifter browser for? Mostly for playing Zynga games on Facebook. Over 40% of all gaming time logged on iSwifter's servers is for those games, which include Words With Friends, Farmville, Cityville, and Mafia Wars.
iPad gets Flash yet again with iSwifter app, Android version coming soon (hands-on)
Ever since Skyfire brought Flash to the iPad with its server-side solution, we've had a feeling that others would try to emulate the experience and satisfy the general public's desire for the venerable format on Apple's tablet. iSwifter is another entrant to the space, and its app claims to allow access to any Flash content on the web -- a lofty claim indeed. Oh, and did we mention it's coming to Android versions above 2.2 as well? We've given the iPad app a brief rundown, so head past the break for a breakdown of the positives and negatives. %Gallery-118776%
iSWiFTER is another Flash-to-iOS app featuring video and games
Currently free for a limited time, iSWiFTER is yet another contender in a growing category of what I'd call "service" apps which allow you to play Flash content on your iOS device. While Skyfire was iPhone compatible, iSWiFTER is iPad-only. How does it work? Just barely. This is not designed for accessing the rich universe of creamy Flash content. This is a list of 15 games or videos from around the web. Game interaction is primarily poke-based, as there's no multi-touch or swipe behavior support. Not really, anyway, as the lag from the transcoding service makes for poor response time. Games are "mostly playable" depending on this lag. They are presented in a smaller window inside a border, likely to spare bandwidth. Still, audio can get choppy. If you absolutely must play the less than dozen games available and all you have is your iPad, then here's your app. Video was an even less useful experience. The app includes TED content, but there's already an app for that. One video (a YouTube clip, no less) refused to play, and another site required scrolling. Well, if you ever remote-controlled a computer on a slow connection you may guess what happens when you "scroll" via remote -- the page flies and you're nowhere you wanted to be. Finessing the scrollbar before even getting to the video is no way to use your iPad, son. I also got a big screen of static at one point. For free I'd say iSWiFTER may provide you with a few grins from poking around some very simplistic games. But it's more of the same from these apps, a clunky tech demo that ultimately reminds us there's no Flash on iOS, for better or worse. %Gallery-107053%
