Adobe Flash Heads To Smartphones. All Except One, That Is

A public developer beta of the browser-based Adobe Flash Player 10.1 is expected this year for Windows Mobile, Palm webOS as well as PC operating systems including Microsoft Windows, Apple Macintosh and Linux. Betas for Google Android and Symbian OS are expected to be available early next year. Adobe also has reached an agreement to bring Flash Player to Research In Motion's Blackberry smartphones.

Interestingly, one smartphone not included in the list is Apple's iPhone. Adobe did not explain the iPhone's absence in a news release.

In addition, Adobe said that Google has joined nearly 50 other companies in the Open Screen Project to enrich the video-viewing experience for users.

Flash Player 10.1 is the first runtime release in the Open Screen Project that enables viewing of high-definition video across a wide range of devices and platforms, according to Adobe.

The browser-based player leverages the power of the graphics processing unit for accelerated video and graphics while using less battery life, according to Google.

Specifically for smartphones, Flash Player 10.1 incorporates support for multitouch, gestures, mobile input models, accelerometer and screen orientation functionality. It also will integrate new content protection powered by Adobe Flash Access 2.0 into HTTP streaming of media delivery.

David Wadhwani, general manager and vice president of the platform business unit at Adobe, said the first devices with full Flash Player will ship in the first half of 2010.

"With Flash Player moving to new mobile platforms, users will be able to experience virtually all Flash technology-based Web content and applications wherever they are," Wadhwani said in a statement.

The entry of Google, which owns the video content site YouTube, into the Open Screen Project, is a big step toward creating a better, more ubiquitous viewing experience for smartphone users, said executives.

"We are excited to join Adobe and other industry leaders in the Open Screen Project," said Sundar Pichai, vice president of product management at Google, in a statement. "This initiative supports our common goal to move the Web forward as a platform and to spur innovation in the industry through technology such as Adobe Flash."