Adobe scraps Flash plans for iPad and iPhone
Adobe, which acquired Macromedia in 2005, the creator and developer of Flash technology, will no longer provide software to support Apple's iPad, iPhone or iPod touch devices.
Though Safari and other Apple software, such as Mac OS X, will continue to support Flash technology, developers which create Flash content will not be able to port it to the newly released iPad, and existing or future iPhone's.
The iPad lacked Flash when it was initially released, but it was hoped and expected that Adobe would throw its cards on the table and attempt, at best, to release a version of Flash for these devices.
As the BBC point out, Creative Suite 5 released last month enabled developers to convert Flash code into iPhone applications. However Apple's developer terms and conditions change caused controversy amongst developers by limiting their scope of application function, and effectively banning them from using code translators such as CS5.
When considering mobile entrepreneurs and Generation Y developers a month and a bit ago, I knew and still know how powerful the mobile market is. Yet as Flash technology is an integral part of the Web and application power, regardless of whether HTML5 will negate the need for using the plug-in, it is also a major part of modern technology and creative design degree programmes.
All students from various countries and institutions who study programmes in multimedia design, electronics and computer science engage with Flash and Adobe technology, and passing code and design implementation is vital to their expansion of knowledge and portfolio building.
Not only will this move damage the reputation of Apple and developers as such, but harm the potential of younger developers exploiting the easy-to-use platform and knowledge base to generate revenue and self publicity.
Silverlight is thought to be released for the iPad, and therefore presumably the iPhone and iPod touch devices too; though at this point it is not clear when or whether the negotiations will yield any result.
Will this have a significant knock-on effect to not only Apple developers but consumers also? Could this signal a shift from the almighty iPhone to Android or BlackBerry devices? Or will HTML5 completely trump all arguments and be a much needed shift from Apple and Adobe dominance on the web?