Adobe moves mobile Flash from rhetoric to reality
But don't be surprised to see them coming soon--the new Motorola Droid going on sale on Verizon's network, to be announced Wednesday, seems a likely candidate. "Expect additional news later this week with OEM-related news," Murarka said.And though there's no deal to announce, he said Adobe is in talks with Samsung about bringing Flash to its Bada operating system.Adobe likes the Android Market style of distribution, which helps Adobe manage Flash Player and doesn't require them to wait for a device manufacturing cycle. Also coming is a pop-up message that Web sites can show suggesting people install Flash, an experience drawn from personal computers.But Adobe will work with others, too; for example, Palm will distribute Flash Player 10.1 through a system update, he said.Programmers, too, will have to adjust to the new Flash Player 10.1. Many existing Web sites will work fine on mobile phones with Flash Player, Murarka said, but those that assume a person controls the application with a keyboard and mouse or that assume the user has a large screen could have troubles.Consequently, Adobe encourages programmers to consider touch interfaces and other newer developments. Flash Player 10.1 includes support for multitouch, but an application will work differently controlled that way compared to more traditional interfaces.To run on a phone, a relatively powerful processor is required. Adobe's official list includes ARM11, Cortex A8 and A9, Intel Atom, nVidia Tegra, and Qualcomm Snapdragon. The software can take advantage of processor sleep states to conserve power and of accelerometers to control screen orientation.Such engineering work is necessary and important for a good experience, and Adobe has Moore's Law on its side: new devices will come with more memory, better graphics, brawnier processors, better displays. But that's in the future.Today's challenge will be just getting Flash onto mobile devices and getting programmers to adjust their ways. With Flash Player 10.1, though, Adobe has something more than words to persuade others to sign up for Flash.
