Flash 10.1 For All Mobiles! .. Cept The iPhone.

By Benedict Wee

The people at Adobe have announced that their next version of Flash - version 10.1- will come to Android, BlackBerry, Symbian, WebOS and Windows Mobile phones and will be GPU accelerated which means watching flawless YouTube videos in HD.

Though the full software will only be available mid-2010, the beta version will be released to Windows Mobile and WebOS phones by the end of the year with Android and Symbian following early next so expect to stream television shows on your mobile in just a couple of months.

Too bad for iPhone users however. Given Apple's overprotective attitude towards their smartphone Adobe is reporting that there isn't much progress in developing Flash for the system. Sad, Flash support could work wonders on a device that relies heavily on a touch interface.

LOS ANGELES — Oct. 5, 2009 — At Adobe MAX, Adobe’s worldwide developer conference, Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) and Research In Motion (RIM) (Nasdaq:RIMM; TSX:RIM) today announced they are working together to bring Adobe® Flash® Player support to the BlackBerry® platform. RIM is joining the Open Screen Project, a broad initiative dedicated to enabling standalone applications and richer Web browsing across mobile phones, televisions, desktops and other consumer electronic devices through the Adobe Flash Platform. The collaboration is expected to bring the full Flash Player browser runtime to BlackBerry smartphones.

“As an industry leader for innovative smartphones and wireless solutions, RIM delivers superior mobile user experiences to customers around the world,” said David Wadhwani, general manager and vice president, Flash Platform Business Unit at Adobe. “It’s a natural fit for both companies to work together to bring Flash technology based video and Web content to BlackBerry smartphone users.”

“As part of the Open Screen Project, RIM will be working with Adobe to deliver a great Flash technology experience on BlackBerry smartphones and to enable users to enjoy the exciting content and services that Flash technology developers and content creators are bringing to the Web,” said Alan Brenner, SVP at Research In Motion.

Led by Adobe, the Open Screen Project includes close to 50 industry leaders working together to provide a consistent runtime environment and user experience across mobile phones, desktops, and other consumer electronics devices. The initiative addresses the challenges of Web browsing on a broad range of devices, and removes the barriers to publishing content and applications seamlessly across screens. For more information, visit www.openscreenproject.org.

Source:

Gizmodo - Flash 10.1: Full Flash For Everyone But iPhone, Actually Playable HD Vids

Adobe - RIM joins Open Screen Project

Sidenote: Doesn't Ming the Merciless look kinda like Steve Jobs with a beard?!