The inferiority of Flash is most evident on low-energy devices, like a Windows 7 Ultimate tablet or an Android tablet.
On a highy compact mobile device, HD video readily drops frames in Flash, so many videos on the web are very jumpy. On Silverlight the experience is much smoother, and indeed Smooth Streaming is one way to eliminate the problem.
No wonder Apple still refuses to support Flash on iPhone and iPad.
Software developer Joseph Labrecque points towards a bright, positive outlook regarding Adobe Flash and AIR technologies on mobile devices, the desktop and the Web.
This article is the result of an invitation to offer a response article to Jason Perlow’s One year after iPad: Is Adobe Flash still relevant?
While I do not necessarily disagree with all of the observations put forward in the article, I do strongly disagree with the title, focus, and central premise. In full disclosure; I’ve been making a living off of Flash Platform technologies for over a decade.
Point being: I have a strong affinity to the Adobe Flash Platform and have a bright, positive outlook regarding the long-term future of my platform of choice.
It is important to keep things in perspective when discussing mobile technologies. Smartphones and tablets are still a very new area and we are all only now discovering how these devices can be integrated into our lives in a productive way.
We are also just beginning to discover what works and what does not work on these devices from a technological standpoint. They all have high-resolution screens, are using aging energy cell technology, run on minimal versions of an operating system, yet are our constant companions throughout the day.
Some tasks that we take for granted when using a desktop machine are poorly implemented in a small form factor, while others are spectacularly refined and directed, such as TweetDeck on Android. It is a balancing act right now and most of the industry players involved are doing an excellent job walking this tightrope.
The amazing thing is that in some ways, these devices do provide a level of experience that is, at times, very close to that of their desktop counterparts. I know that Flash Player runs most content quite well on my Motorola DROID and even better on the DROID2. We have near parity of features across multiple screens: desktop, smartphone, tablet, and the digital living room. That is quite an achievement!
This point is often lost on those who only see Flash as a technology for creating banner ads and watching videos. As a platform, Flash continues to push ahead with stunning innovation while retaining full backwards compatibility with existing content even content produced with FutureSplash Animator!
Consider this: while the current crop of mobile devices are still in their early stages, they are still incredibly underpowered when compared with desktop or laptop machines. Yet, Stage3D (Molehill) functionality was recently displayed running upon an older model Samsung Galaxy Tab during the FITC conference in Toronto this past week.
This is the same 3D functionality that has been available to desktop users through the Incubator program on Adobe Labs, but running upon a severely underpowered machine. That is really something of significance. As devices get faster, we can expect Flash to take advantage of this as well.
Have you tried to run some of the more intensive HTML/Javascript experiences on an iPhone or iPad? These experiments will bring the device to a crawl. Should be blame Webkit for this poor performance? Of course not; there is an understanding that the device is underpowered and cannot process the experience quickly enough to provide the ideal experience.
It is no different with Flash Player on those devices which may run with slower processors. The important take-away here is that Flash Platform runtimes run really well right now on this current generation of smartphones and as these devices become more powerful coupled with future platform innovation we have a killer platform on our hands.
Users of iOS understand that there are limitations on that platform — they accept these limitations and use the devices for what they are capable of, not for what they are incapable of. When given a choice, I believe most users would want to decide for themselves whether or not to install something like Flash Player on a device.
Considering how personal smartphones and tablets have become — it really is an affront to the dignity of the user to deny them, by corporate policy, the choice of doing so. Thoughts on Flash is often brought up as if gospel but in truth there are many problems with all of the points brought up by Apple CEO Steve Jobs.
