Adobe Systems today announced the release of Adobe Flash Player 10.1 to mobile platform partners. As of this morning, Flash 10.1 was the top download in the Android Market.
According to the Anup Muraka, director of technology strategy and partner development for Flash, the new mobile version of Flash will be available on 19 of the top 20 mobile platforms, with Apple being the high-profile hold out.
For now, Flash Player 10.1 is still considered a beta release for Android, at least until more smartphones and tablets are able to upgrade to Android 2.2 (Froyo). Initial devices that support 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 also was 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.
Device and technology partners including ARM, Motorola, Dell, Research In Motion, Samsung, Google, HTC, Nvidia, Qualcomm, Intel, Microsoft, Texas Instruments, Brightcove and others announced more specifics around their support for Flash Player 10.1 today.
More specifically, Brightcove unveiled a platform for delivering video on Android mobile devices. The solution includes the Brightcove App Software Development Kit (SDK) for Android and new mobile templates for Adobe Flash Player 10.1. The SDK spans both native apps and mobile Web experiences to enable customers to address wide-ranging video use cases on Android devices.
The usefulness of Flash on mobile devices has been in contention as of late. Apple and Adobe have been exchanging barbs for months now, as Apple insists that Flash is an antiquated technology that drains battery life on mobile devices. Apple CEO Steve Jobs went so far as to outline his grievances with Flash in an open letter entitled, “Thoughts on Flash.”
Muraka said that today’s release, and what he contends is impressive performance from the new player, will put to rest any doubts about issues with Flash on mobile. He said that Flash 10.1 can run three hours of continuous streaming video on the Nexus One and up to four hours of casual gaming.
