[dooodads]

Adobe to cease developing mobile flash plugin for Android and PlayBook | The Verge

I lol'd.

[Xandrex_BSCF]

The article only highlights a small part of the big news, which is : Adobe will focus more on Adobe Air than on Adobe Flash. Which is a good thing globally.

Furthermore, BBX will continue to support both WebWorks (obviously ;-) ) and Adobe Air. Adobe is simply insightful in the idea than Flash may not stay forever (both for mobile and non-mobile)

[the_sleuth]

Another tech company steam rolled by technical progress. Adobe's business model will be a lot smaller once HTML 5 is more prevalent.

Although Adobe's tools for HTML 5 is a step in the right direction.

[Fat Bastage]

It seemed so obvious last January that RIM was making a strategic error by trumpeting "flash loving" as the primarily selling feature of the playbook.

All they needed to do was see the huge percentages of web sites rapidly abandoning flash. It almost seems that RIMs vision of the future is about 12 months in reverse.

[WinningWithLogic]

Another tech company steam rolled by technical progress. Adobe's business model will be a lot smaller once HTML 5 is more prevalent.

Although Adobe's tools for HTML 5 is a step in the right direction.

I think Adobe's going to continue to do well for themselves. Their core business has always been around selling the tools developers and designers use and they'll be able to continue to do that and be successful regardless of Flash existing or not.

[TheMimic]

What difference does it really make? There's still millions of flash sites. BBX is moving towards HTML5. Does everyone thing that flash is going to vanish as of tomorrow?

Ask yourselves how many people ran out and bought the PB specifically for flash support and the main reason for their decision. Now ask yourself, how many sales will RIM really lose on the PB in the next year or 2 because of it?

This is the least of their PB worries right now. They need to get devs aboard to ramp up their apps # and get the BBX phones to market. They're already working on that. Nothing will happen over night an unfortunately because they've been d*cking everyone around for the last 12 months with broken promises and delays, everyone wants everything fixed yesterday (with good reason)

[notfanboy]

On a related note, Google will stop support from Gmail native app on Blackberry on Nov 22.

Deprecation of Gmail App

[rdkempt]

It seemed so obvious last January that RIM was making a strategic error by trumpeting "flash loving" as the primarily selling feature of the playbook.

All they needed to do was see the huge percentages of web sites rapidly abandoning flash. It almost seems that RIMs vision of the future is about 12 months in reverse.

Exactly... how can you possibly think it's a great idea to pick up what others are dropping, especially in the world of technology? It's like making a tablet with a floppy drive in it. I mean, I'm sure there's a small percentage of people that would find it useful, but most people want the new technology because it's better... not the leftovers that the other guys are deeming old, out-dated and useless.

Anyways, I'm glad Adobe has announced this... looking forward to a better web experience and hopefully this will encourage people to update their web browsers when websites get re-written... sick of making sure my sites render well in IE7.

[southlander]

Another tech company steam rolled by technical progress. Adobe's business model will be a lot smaller once HTML 5 is more prevalent.

Although Adobe's tools for HTML 5 is a step in the right direction.

Adobe has historically been a pretty tough company. I'd never count them out.

[slalom]

On a related note, Google will stop support from Gmail native app on Blackberry on Nov 22.

Deprecation of Gmail App

For some this may be a big deal.....I used to use the GMail app, but on my 9810 set up the account under Blackberry Mail and it works great.

[allengeorge]

AFAICT Adobe is still developing AIR, but if I were RIM I'd move all apps off AIR as fast as possible and on to the NDK/WebWorks. That's part of the issue with putting your fate in another company's hands: you don't have a lot of say in the direction that the platform goes.

Anyways, I've always thought that the WebOS approach made the most sense for RIM: an HTML5 SDK along with a C SDK for more "on-the-metal" apps.

[allengeorge]

Mmm...I think Adobe will be fine. They're basically a tool-maker: Flash Builder, CS* series, LR, etc., etc. They'll simply beef up their HTML5 tools and reassign the guys working on Mobile Flash to work on HTML5 engines (maybe?).

[shootsscores]

The PB isn't reliant on "mobile" flash. Just head to your favorite flash web site and you're good to go. Streaming sports via flash is still the mainstay on the interweb.

[Economist101]

The PB isn't reliant on "mobile" flash. Just head to your favorite flash web site and you're good to go. Streaming sports via flash is still the mainstay on the interweb.

Unless your favorite is Hulu. At any rate, RIM's opinion of Flash was cemented by its choice not to mention Flash substantively during the DevCon keynote.

[xandermac]

About time. Anyone with common sense saw this coming and never touted it as a selling point to begin with. Ads is about all it ever did. Crackberry main page is a dog bc of flash.

[lawguyman]

The PB isn't reliant on "mobile" flash.

Yes it is. The Flash plugin that Playbook has is a mobile, as opposed to a desktop, version. Mobile Flash development is coming to an end. If some future version of a Playbook OS breaks Flash, we may all be out of luck.

[Economist101]

Yes it is. The Flash plugin that Playbook has is a mobile, as opposed to a desktop, version. Mobile Flash development is coming to an end. If some future version of a Playbook OS breaks Flash, we may all be out of luck.

Sending that comment his way is like telling a 7 year-old there's no Santa Clause.

[RCCollins]

So much for the Playbooks killer/must have feature.

[tchocky77]

No one else gonna say it?

I will.

Apple wins.

[rdkempt]

No one else gonna say it?

I will.

Apple wins.

I don't even see it as a feat anymore, it's nearly common sense - when you see something new that is replacing old proprietary garbage, you drop support for said garbage that doesn't run as well as the new stuff.

As much as I hate Apple, they realize this and are usually the first to drop support for old junk these days.

To develop a marketing strategy and claim you have a competitive edge because you support old garbage people are running away from is absolutely insane.

[samab]

It doesn't mean anything --- because RIM/QNX is Flash/AIR source code licensee and QNX is continuing to port the desktop version of Flash/AIR to the QNX platform.

RIM

It only affects the Android platform --- because Adobe does the porting of the Flash player to Android. Now that Adobe stop doing the porting, then the Android platform isn't going to see new versions of Flash.

Adobe continues to develop the desktop version of the Flash player and QNX continues to be a source code licensee. Since QNX already does the porting of the Flash player to the QNX platform themselves --- there is no change to the current working order.

[samab]

Yes it is. The Flash plugin that Playbook has is a mobile, as opposed to a desktop, version. Mobile Flash development is coming to an end. If some future version of a Playbook OS breaks Flash, we may all be out of luck.

QNX's version is more closely related to the desktop version than the mobile version.

And since QNX is a source code licensee, they did stuff to Flash/AIR that not even Adobe has been able to do. For example, any third party developer can do native extensions with AIR 2.7 on the Playbook right now (i.e. you can do it on the Playbook with OS 1.0.7 and Playbook NDK 1.0) --- whereas the official Adobe AIR version needed a minimum of AIR 3.0 to do native extensions.

H.e.l.l. --- when the Playbook was first launched in April, quite a few first party apps are hybrids already --- with QNX jerry-rigging AIR 2.5.

[dandbj13]

Question for all the Apple hating, Flash loving commenters. Why do you think Adobe has decided to abandon mobile Flash? This ought to be fun.

[DenverRalphy]

It doesn't mean anything --- because RIM/QNX is Flash/AIR source code licensee and QNX is continuing to port the desktop version of Flash/AIR to the QNX platform.

RIM

It only affects the Android platform --- because Adobe does the porting of the Flash player to Android. Now that Adobe stop doing the porting, then the Android platform isn't going to see new versions of Flash.

Adobe continues to develop the desktop version of the Flash player and QNX continues to be a source code licensee. Since QNX already does the porting of the Flash player to the QNX platform themselves --- there is no change to the current working order.

I would say that it really doesn't affect any mobile platform. Obviously Apple doesn't care. Android had seen the writing on the wall a while back and brought support for HTML5. BB never really got around to depending on Flash. Devices that already have flashplayer on them will still receive updates and support for the current version they have.

I'd speculate that Adobe is dropping development of mobile flashplayer simply because no platforms really depend on it, and HTML5 web-development has finally matured enough that it's being utilized more.

[kb5zht]

It almost seems that RIMs vision of the future is about 12 months in reverse.

Well, thats a parallel with what i have been saying about RIM for a long time now.... They are competing with what the competition did years ago.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com