Word dropped this morning that Torch Mobile, makers of the Iris Browser, had been purchased by Research in Motion. That's great news for BlackBerry fans, who have been in dire need of a browser for, well, ever. However, this is bad news for Windows Mobile. We just heard back from Torch Mobile spokesman George Staikos, and the response is unequivocal:

The company will no longer continue developing for Windows Mobile or Windows-CE.

Bad news, indeed, if you're set on using Webkit. The good news is that we still have a number of more-than-decent browsers available, including Skyfire, Opera Mobile and even Internet Explorer, which is slowly getting better. And we're still looking for the mobile version of Firefox in the coming months.

Via Crackberry and The iPhone Blog

It's browser day, apparently. This time, the venerable WEbkit-based Iris browser has gotten an update to v1.1.8. According to Torch Mobile's blog, here's what's addressed:

• Improved graphics performance
• Faster networking and loading of local files
• Improved memory usage
• Improved asynchronous behavior while loading pages
• Support for the W3C Geolocation API
• Support for HTML5 SQL databases and client side storage
• Rendering improvements, including for <canvas>
• CSS transformations and effects
• Improved Thai support
• Right-to-left language fixes
• Many general bug fixes

If you're new to Iris, we've plopped a demo video after the break. For everyone else, head on over to the download page.

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We're up to version 1.1.6 with the latest updated version of Torchmobile's Iris Mobile Browser. The enhancements of this latest version include: new registry flag to control the minimum/maximum zoom levels; history fixes; EUC-KR support improvements; performance improvements including 25% faster page loads, improved scrolling performance, and improved paint speed; as well as the customary improvements on hidden and site specific fixes.

You can download your copy of Iris at Torchmobile's Website or if you're already enjoying Iris, simply go to your options menu and check for updates.

[Read: FuzeMobility]

Torch Mobile has announced a free "commercial release" of its Windows Mobile web browser based the open-source WebKit browser. The Iris Browser, version 1.1.0, includes "big performance gains," Flash Lite support, reduced memory usage and accelerometer support, according to the company. In a market that's suddenly become crowded with third-party web browsers, the latest Iris version joins Bolt and Opera 9.5 (and eventually Firefox) in the mobile browser race. Iris isn't exactly a newcomer to the field, with the original Beta version having been released about a year ago.

Version 1.1.0 features performance gains and reduced memory usage. The release adds support for Adobe's Flash Lite ActiveX control, and for the accelerometers found on HTC phones. It also includes "preliminary" RSS (really simple syndication) and SVG (scalable vector graphics) support, according to the company. According to WindowsForDevices.com Iris is touted as performing well even on devices with minimal resources, thanks to a fast rendering engine, efficient storage of bookmarks and cookies, and a cache optimized for low disk usage. Follow the break to see how well Iris v1.1.0 version 1.1.2  performed on the HTC Fuze along with a few screen shots.

Note: I wrote this review on Feb. 21, 2009, originally using version 1.1.0. While testing this version, an update (version 1.1.2) was released by Torch Mobile. We have just learned that yet another Beta version of Iris has been released, version 1.1.3 that Fuze Mobility is reporting corrects the screen freezing problems experienced with previous versions. Read on for our impressions over this rapidly changing mobile web browser.

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Well they say if you can’t beat them, then you might as well join them and that’s what Torch Mobile has accomplished with its revamp of the Iris browser. The changes to the browser are all thanks its new Webkit rendering engine. It hopes to bring the iPhones web browser experience to Windows mobile. It’s a beta so there may be bugs to still work out (Hint: there are), but either way it gives hope to our fellow Windows Mobile users when it comes to surfing from your device.

I think if Torch Mobile can pull this off it will be a breakthrough for Windows Mobile. We have multi tasking, we have great PIM managements and now all we need is a good browser experience.

What's your next-gen browser of choice? Iris? Skyfire? Opera Mobile 9.5?

Good lord, the mobile browser space on Windows Mobile is absolute on fire lately. The newest entrant is Iris, from Torch Mobile. They announced at MWC and you can go download it right now. Iris is getting distributed by Trolltech - those crazy Linux Smartphone developers who were recently purchased by Nokia. But whatever, it's available on Windows Mobile.

Iris, like Safari on the iPhone and Nokia's browsers, is based on Webkit. It certainly seems to render everything exactly as it ought -- in fact it renders perhaps a little too well as it doesn't seem to offer any smart-wrapping features for text. Generally speaking it doesn't seem to have Still, if you're looking for a free option that will render just like you expect, Iris might be fun.

Getcher screenies: