Flash Player 10.1, HD ready

At the Mobile World Congress 2010, Adobe announced in Barcelona the beta version of Flash Player 1.01, with support for HD video, as well as advances in the Adobe Flash Platform that include the introduction of AIR on mobile devices.

As a result of the Open Screen Project, an industry-wide initiative led by Adobe AIR that will be compatible with the Android platform in 2010, Adobe has presented at the Mobile World Congress new advances in the Adobe Flash platform that will provide developers with a feature-rich environment to develop sophisticated applications outside the mobile device browser and across different operating systems and delivered through mobile device markets and application stores (App Stores).

AIR takes advantage of the mobile-specific features provided by Flash Player 10.1, and is optimized for high performance on mobile device screens and designed to take advantage of the devices' native capabilities. The result is a more sophisticated and immersive user experience.

Flash Player 1.01 beta version

Adobe also announced that a beta version of Flash Player 10.1 is available to content providers and mobile developers worldwide. Flash Player 10.1, generally available in the first half of 2010, is the first version of the runtime within the Open Screen Project that allows, without the need for a browser, seamless web browsing of expressive applications, as well as high definition (HD) content and videos across screens, including those of new tablet devices, smartphones, netbooks, smart books, desktop computers and other consumer electronic devices.

According to a January 2010 Strategy Analytics analysis, more than 250 million smartphones are expected to support Flash Player by the end of 2012. Mobile device platforms that will support Flash Player include Android, the BlackBerry platform, Symbian OS, Palm webOS, and Windows Mobile.

David Wadhwani, general manager and vice president of the Adobe Platform business unit, said: "We are very excited about the progress that Flash Player 10.1 represents and the work that developers, content publishers and nearly 70 Open Screen Project partners have done so far as part of the beta program. With the Flash platform advancing even further on mobile devices, we make it possible for developers and content publishers to distribute their creations on any screen, so that consumers enjoy open access to their media. interactive, favorite content and applications across different platforms.”

API Set

With Flash Player tools and Adobe Creative Suite, content developers and publishers will be able to create, test and distribute applications to different devices and operating systems using a single toolchain and a single set of application programming interfaces (APIs) across different platforms. Developers using Adobe Flash Professional CS5 with Adobe Packager for iPhone will be able to reuse their iPhone app code to create the same Android app.

Extending the supported capabilities of Adobe AIR for use on mobile devices allows developers to easily create contextual applications that feature the ability to adapt presentation and performance to different application contexts, while reusing code for each device or platform. Application contexts include different screens, device-specific interaction techniques, and specific functionalities of mobile device platforms, as well as differences in network and broadband access. Content can also be personalized based on user history or social data. Learn more about contextual apps.

Adobe joins the LiMo Foundation

Adobe and the LiMo Foundation announced that Adobe has joined this global consortium of mobile industry leaders to bring the Adobe Flash Platform to the LiMo Platform. The LiMo Platform's support for Flash will allow developers and content providers to create applications that can run on LiMo devices.

Adobe, as a member of the LiMo Foundation, will thus support the development of an independently and collaboratively developed handheld mobile device platform, which is commercially promoted by some of the companies and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in the sector, including LG, NEC, NTT DOCOMO, Orange, Panasonic, Samsung, SK Telecom, Telefónica, Vodafone and Verizon Wireless.

Morgan Gillis, CEO of the LiMo Foundation, said: “The LiMo Foundation is distinguished by providing a neutral mobile platform for the mobile device industry and our goal is to enable large developer communities to flourish freely on the LiMo Platform while the platform is widely deployed by major operators and manufacturers.”