Browsing on a Windows Mobile PDAPhone has never been a really fun experience, especially if you are browsing full sized websites. There have been a number of attempts to fix this... unfortunately Microsoft hasn't really made any substantive improvements to their Pocket Internet Explorer in about five years since it first came out, so another new player enters the race by opening a free public beta of their Skyfire Browser for Windows Mobile and Symbian. What does Skyfire offer?

Skyfire aims to deliver a good browsing experience to full-featured PC versions of your favorite websites. Skyfire claims speedy page loads, full audio, images and video. From Myspace, Facebook, YouTube to Hulu - the full web experienced on your phone. That is a big goal and would be great if it can deliver.

Unlike most other mobile browsers, Skyfire supports the desktop version of Adobe Flash applications so sites, including those that serve-up video and music, are rendered exactly as you would expect - just like your PC. You will instantly recognize the content, be familiar with the page layout -- which is not true for most mobile browsing experiences. They support all that's good about today's web - not just Flash, but also Silverlight, Ajax, QuickTime and more. And even better: Skyfire evolves with the newest capabilities without you having to do anything.

Not only do they deliver video and audio, we also deliver everything else you routinely do on the web. Get maps, check sport scores, view weather forecasts, read the news, check flights, and stay active on your favorite social networks. From the Top 10 of websites all the way down to the obscurest of pages - you'll do it all from your mobile phone just like you do on your PC.

Skyfire claims to be faster than any mobile web browser you've ever used. You'll load web pages as fast as your PC and eliminate the long delays and error messages you get with other mobile browsers. According to a bake-off by Laptop Magazine and Skyfire beat out the iPhone 3G.

Skyfire has a SuperBar to perform a search or enter a URL from a single field. They suggest the most commonly used search keywords as you type. The search results from Google and Yahoo and are presented in easy to read tabs for each category: web, images, and videos, and maps.

Skyfire has built in some handy features, and says they will be adding more as the beta develops. If you discover something on the web that you want to share, you can send it to your friends from Skyfire via a text message. If they find a mobile version of a site you are visiting, Skyfire lets you know - then you decide if you want the mobile or full website. Skyfire even renders iPhone specific web sites nicely.

You can run the Skyfire beta on your existing Windows Mobile (version 5 or 6) or newer Symbian Series 60 phones in a few steps... either over the air or through your PC. I really dislike Pocket Internet Explorer so I willd definitely be checking this out. One of the appeals to me of the iPhone is the web browsing, and this could be the ticket to get it on my Tilt. If you try it, please be sure to post your results in a reply here.