Although there was no mention of Flash on iPhones, Adobe has announced that Adobe Air is now available on mobile devices – and will be on Android phones this year.
The company, who also announced that a beta version of Flash Player 10.1, believes that the mobile version of AIR will offer a 'feature-rich environment for delivering rich applications outside the mobile browser and across multiple operating systems via mobile marketplaces and app stores.'
The rich application platform is optimized for high performance on mobile screens and is apparently designed to take advantage of native device capabilities for a 'richer and more immersive' user experience.
Flash Player 10.1
The announcement that Flash Player 10.1 is being made available to content providers and mobile developers in mobile form will also pique interest.
Adobe suggest that Flash 10.1 will be available in the first half of 2010 and will be the first consistent runtime release of the Open Screen Project enabling "uncompromised Web browsing of expressive applications, content and high definition (HD) videos across screens including new tablet devices, smartphones, netbooks, smartbooks, desktops and other consumer electronics."
Conspicuously absent
Adobe cited research that suggests Flash will be supported on 250 million devices by 2011 – with Apple's iPhone platform conspicuous in its absence from a list of likely devices.
"We are excited about the progress with Flash Player 10.1 and the work that developers, content publishers and close to 70 partners in the Open Screen Project have done so far as part of the beta program," said David Wadhwani, general manager and vice president, Platform Business at Adobe.
"With the Flash Platform further advancing on mobile devices, we enable developers and content publishers to deliver to any screen, so that consumers have open access to their favorite interactive media, content, and applications across platforms."
