Adobe announced this week it will bring a full-featured Flash Player 10 to most of the major smartphone operating systems early next year. Most is code for all-but-the-iPhone.
The Flash player will have all the capabilities as the desktop version. Adobe currently has a Lite version of flash that is available for about 40% of all shipping phones. The Lite version, however, lacks the full features of the full desktop Flash.
The lack of iPhone support is sore thumb in the announcement, and Adobe acknowledges it. The company is quoted by CNET, "We would love to see it on the iPhone, too," said Anup Murarka, director of Technology Strategy and Partner Development for Adobe. "But it's Apple's decision on when and how they support any new technology. So we will continue to work on it."
Adobe and Apple have been collaborating on creating a Flash solution for the iPhone. Or likely more accurately, a version that will well represent the Web experience. Just this month, Adobe CEO discussed the challenges and persistence by both companies for a solution. There likely could be a second announcement prior to Flash Player 10 shipping next year. A full mobile version of Flash would appear to address Apple’s concerns, provided it can be integrated with the iPhone OS.
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Reader Comments
If Adobe wants Apple to use Flash, then they need to make it an open standard, like PDF and they need to make it do something unique.
Of course, it can't be a memory and processor hog either.
Open Standards Posted by Synthmeister on 02/17/09 4:35 PM
I agree. Flash is a standard because everyone uses it, not because it's open. We'll see. Apparently there is some kind of open flash effort.
Posted by Guest Poster #2 on 02/17/09 5:24 PM
Open flash will always be behind, because Adobe will always want and need to be ahead, and therefore will never get the support it needs to even really get rolling.
The flash format was opened at some point, though I don't know it's current state. The player is not likely to be opened, it contains code not owned by Adobe, just licensed.
If apple does release a tablet and it is based on the I-phone, and it's a locked down as the I-phone then we will be entering a world of computing where the user is considered stupid. Maybe that's true, I mean we don't get to program our microwaves and we seem happy with that.
And I know being a developer is not the norm, but I want to be able to install software of my choosing on the computers I own, weather they look like desktops, laptops, tablets, TVs, or Phones.
