Adobe Flash Player 10.1 Now Available For Mobile Platform Partners

One of the bigger features of the upcoming Android release, 2.2 (better known as Froyo), is the fact that there's integrated Flash Player. While many think that Flash isn't optimized for proper mobile use, Adobe begs to differ, as they point out in the first paragraph of their press release that 10.0 for mobile devices has been redesigned from the ground up, with performance in mind, which also includes mobile-specific features. It's already available on desktop clients, like Linux, PC, and Mac, but we're all waiting for the official release on mobile devices. Now that we have the official announcement from Adobe, 35 companies ready to jump on board, we don't expect it will be much longer to wait.

Of course, the argument is this: while Flash lets you display the "full web," does it do with by sacrificing the speed and performance of your mobile device? While we've seen Flash on other devices, like from HTC and Nokia, these have all been variations of Flash Lite. This time around, we're getting the full experience, optimized for the mobile platform. Therefore, there's still just as many questions lingering about its ability to provide the full web, but at the same time keep our devices working in a proper fashion.

Michael Gartenberg, a constant columnist here at SlashGear, even mentioned his usage of Adobe's Flash Player 10.1 on his Nexus One, which he updated to Froyo, and subsequently began using the pre-releases of the Flash Player as they were released. As he said, in his column "Flash Goes Mobile — First Take":

"Overall, my experience with Flash on Android was pretty good. Sites that did use Flash loaded relatively quickly and effortlessly. It was fun to surf to a site and not get an error message because Flash was being used," said Michael Gartenberg in his blog posting. ""Performance worked well and sites loaded quickly and fairly complex animations and user experiences worked quickly and looked good. Adobe has done a good job making the case that Flash is viable for mobile." – Michael Gartenberg, Partner, Altimeter Group.

As Adobe stresses, Flash Player 10.1 has been redesigned and optimized for mobile. It supports accelerometers, and features something called "Smart Zooming." With this latter feature, you'll be able to scale the Flash content to full screen, if that's how you'd prefer to view it. Above all, 101. should make efficient use of the CPU on your mobile device, as well as optimize the battery life. Basically, your phone shouldn't slow down, nor should your battery die 15 minutes after you start browsing the Internet on your device.

Probably one of the better features, though, is "Smart Rendering." Designed to make sure that the Flash content on any particular site doesn't start running until it's actually on the screen means a lot less stress on the CPU, as well as the battery consumption. Other features, like "Sleep Mode," means that when you're screen goes dark, Flash Player will automatically slow down.

As for Android-based devices expected to get Android 2.2 support, and therefore official candidacy to Flash Player 10.1, where what you're looking at: DROID by Motorola, Dell Streak, Google Nexus One,

Motorola MILESTONE, HTC Evo, HTC Incredible, HTC Desire, Samsung Galaxy S and others. Sure, all of these handsets were pretty much shoe-ins for the update, but that doesn't answer the really important question: when's the update coming? That won't get answered here, so if that's what you're looking for, you'll be disappointed.

However, Flash Player 10.1 isn't going to be supported on just Android. Here are the other platforms that are going to be supported as well: Flash Player 10.1 was also released to mobile platform partners to be supported on devices based on Android, BlackBerry, webOS, Windows Phone 7 Series, LiMo, MeeGo and Symbian OS, and is expected to be made available via over-the-air downloads and to be pre-installed on smartphones, tablets and other devices in the coming months. While webOS owners are still waiting for their chance in the 10.1 limelight, it looks like they won't have much longer to wait at all. As for all those BlackBerry owners out there, well, here's another step toward a far more lucrative and in-depth Web-browsing experience.

There are 35 companies, distributed throughout the mobile universe in one way or another, tagging along with Adobe in their effort to give owners the full Internet, in every shape and form. Companies like Turner Broadcasting, Time Warner, Sony Pictures, HBO, Viacom, USA Network, Dell, Samsung, HTC, Google, and RIM. All of these companies are going to release their own information about their usage of Flash Player 10.1, and there's plenty of companies in the list that we're, frankly, looking forward to seeing the result of the platform, together with their ideas.

So, when's it officially coming? Well, we thought we might get a cheat-sheet as to when Google might officially release Froyo, but that's not the case. As the press release puts it, we have to wait for the official release of Froyo before we'll be able to download the Flash Player 10.1 over the air. If you've got an Android 2.2-based device, and once it officially launches, you'll be able to find 10.1 sitting in the Android Market, waiting right there for you. In the mean time though, we'd love to hear from all the Nexus One owners out there running a release of Android 2.2, and Flash Player 10.1. How is it working for you?

Press Release:

HBO, Viacom, Turner, Warner Brothers, Sony Pictures, CBS Interactive, USA Network and

Others Ready Flash Content for Mobile

SAN FRANCISCO, CA. — June 22, 2010 — Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq: ADBE) today announced

the release of Adobe® Flash® Player 10.1 to mobile platform partners. Redesigned from the ground up with new

performance and mobile specific features, Flash Player 10.1 is the first release that brings the full web across

desktops and devices. Mobile users will now be able to experience millions of sites with rich applications and

content inside the browser including games, animations, rich Internet applications (RIAs), data presentations and

visualizations, ecommerce, music, video, audio and more.

Already the top free app on Android™ Market today, Flash Player 10.1 will be available as a final production

release for smartphones and tablets once users are able to upgrade to Android 2.2 "Froyo." Devices supporting

"Froyo" and Flash Player 10.1 are expected to include the DROID by Motorola, Dell Streak, Google Nexus One,

Motorola MILESTONE, HTC Evo, HTC Incredible, HTC Desire, Samsung Galaxy S and others. Flash Player 10.1

was also released to mobile platform partners to be supported on devices based on Android, BlackBerry, webOS,

Windows Phone 7 Series, LiMo, MeeGo and Symbian OS, and is expected to be made available via over-the-air

downloads and to be pre-installed on smartphones, tablets and other devices in the coming months.

"We are thrilled that more than three million Flash designers and developers are now able to unleash their

creativity on the world of smartphones, tablets, netbooks, televisions and other consumer electronics," said David Wadhwani, general manager and vice president, Platform Business at Adobe. "The combined power of the

leading rich media technology platform with millions of passionate creatives is sure to impact the world in ways we haven't even imagined yet."

Broad Partner Support

Device and technology partners including ARM, Motorola, Dell, RIM, Samsung, Google, HTC, NVIDIA,

Qualcomm, Intel, Microsoft, Texas Instruments, Brightcove and others announced more specifics around their

support for Flash Player 10.1 today. Major content publishers including Viacom, HBO, Msnbc Digital Network,

Turner, USA Network, Photobucket, Kongregate, Nickelodeon, Sony Pictures, Warner Brothers, CBS Interactive,

South Park Studios, Armor Games, cnet.com, Mochi Media, Blitz, Odopod, JustinTV, AgencyNet, Roundarch,

RAIN and many others have also started to optimize Flash content to deliver the best possible experience within the context of smaller screens, which includes larger buttons for interactions, layout adjustments for mobile

screens and more.

For details visit [insert Quote Page URL] or m.flash.com, Adobe's showcase site for optimized Flash content. For

more information on how to optimize Flash content for mobile, visit www.adobe.com/go/fmobile.

New High Performance Features

Completely redesigned and optimized for mobile, Flash Player 10.1 delivers new interaction methods with support

for mobile-specific input models. Support for accelerometer allows users to view Flash content in landscape and

portrait mode. With Smart Zooming, users can scale content to full screen mode delivering immersive application like experiences from a web page. Performance optimization work with virtually all major mobile silicon and

platform vendors makes efficient use of CPU and battery performance.

The new Smart Rendering feature ensures that Flash content is running only when it becomes visible on the

screen further reducing CPU and battery consumption. With Sleep Mode, Flash Player automatically slows down

when the device transitions into screen saver mode. Advanced Out-of-Memory Management allows the player to

effectively handle non-optimized content that consumes excessive resources, while automatic memory reduction

decreases content usage of RAM by up to 50 percent. Flash Player pauses automatically when events occur such as incoming phone calls or switching from the browser to other device functions. Once users switch back to the browser, Flash Player resumes where it paused.

Industry Analyst Feedback

"Although it is labeled a dot release, Flash Player 10.1 is a significant update that includes a number of new

performance and mobile specific features," said Al Hilwa, program director of the Application Development

Program at IDC. "This allows consumers to see a much bigger part of the web and allows developers to bring

their Flash platform skills to a much bigger swath of devices."

"For the past few weeks I have had the opportunity to test an Android Froyo device loaded with a beta of Flash

Player 10.1," said Ben Bajarin, principal analyst at Creative Strategies. "The overall experience and performance

of Flash has been impressive. Mobile users now have access to full web pages with rich Flash content on millions

of sites. With the new mobile specific features, developers also have an important opportunity to help shape the

way Web content, games, touch capabilities and more are presented across platforms and devices as Froyo and

other platforms deliver full Flash support."

Additional Resources

To watch demo videos of Flash Player 10.1 running across devices, including smartphones and tablets, visit

www.adobe.com/devnet/devices/demos (insert hyperlink)

Availability

Flash Player 10.1 is expected to be available as a final production release for devices once users are able to

upgrade to Android 2.2 "Froyo." Once upgraded, smartphones, tablets and other devices can be updated with

Flash Player 10.1 over-the-air via numerous ways including content triggered downloads, system software

updates and on-device app catalogs such as Android Market, Adobe Labs and other venues. The upgrade

mechanism will vary by device and device manufacturer. The desktop version of Flash Player 10.1 for Windows,

Mac OS and Linux is available on http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/ today.