Bitstream has launched the second generation of its BOLT mobile browser. BOLT 2.1 marks the completion of beta testing on the browser. New features include tighter integration with Facebook, and support for HTML5 video, new standard for delivering streaming video via an internet browser without requiring an external plug-in. BOLT 2.1 also supports several new Flash video streaming websites.
BOLT is engineered to run on mobile phones of all types, and has been installed almost 7m times since its debut in February 2009. The browser’s cloud computing architecture compresses web and multimedia content by as much as 24:1 before sending it to the mobile phone, meaning that users can load websites faster and consume as little as 4 per cent of the data as they would without compression. Bitstream says its small package, easy integration and comprehensive feature set make it ideal for handset manufacturers and mobile network operators to offer the best possible internet experience for users of the widest range of mobile device categories.
“In just a few years, it is expected that more people will be using the internet on mobile devices than from desktop computers,” says Bitstream CEO, Anna Magliocco-Chagnon. “Bitstream has engineered BOLT to maximize the utility of the internet on mobile for end users, give handset manufacturers an important competitive differentiator for their mobile phone lines, and provide mobile network operators another way to compete for new users, as well as to better manage the data usage on their networks. Bitstream has always believed there should be a singular entity called the internet, as opposed to a desktop iteration alongside a lighter, less functional mobile version. 
An April 2010 report from the analyst Morgan Stanley found that video accounts for 69 percent of all mobile data traffic worldwide. Bitstream says that with the inclusion of HTML5 video, the BOLT mobile browser now provides the industry’s broadest video support. Though a relatively new standard, a study released this month by the video aggregator and search firm MeFeedia found that 26 percent of online video available is today already encoded for HTML5.
The list of sites using Flash supported by BOLT 2.1 includes mtv.com, nick.com, bbc.co.uk, hungama.com, bollywoodhungama.com youtube.com, cnn.com, espn.com, video.google.com, video.yahoo.com, and metacafe.com.
You can download BOLT 2.1 and BOLT Lite for free here. Users who have downloaded previous versions of BOLT will be prompted through the application to upgrade the browser.
