Google Android To Support Flash?
Software provider BSquare said it will port Adobe Flash technology onto Google Android for a tier 1 carrier. The specific carrier was not named, but if successful that would give Android a massive advantage over the Apple iPhone, which doesn't support Flash.
It would also put Android in fine company with Research In Motion (RIM) Ltd.'s BlackBerry line and Palm's new webOS that is set to debut on the Palm Pre, devices which Adobe said would have Flash soon. Other operating systems, like Symbian and Microsoft Windows Mobile currently use Flash Lite, a watered down version of Flash specifically for mobile devices.
"Integrating Adobe Flash technology with the functionality of Google's Android platform will afford consumers the rich content and unprecedented applications they demand and is key to achieving success for our OEM and ODM customers," BSquare CEO Brian Crowley said in a statement. "We believe that our value-added products and services can improve the Android experience for users and help our customers get their devices to market faster."
Currently, Flash ships on more than 800 million devices worldwide and more than one million designers and developers use Adobe Flash to build video and rich media applications. The technology, used on popular Web sites like YouTube and Hulu, enables video content to be streamed and developed. Android already offers YouTube support through a special application, though it doesn't support full flash.
Bringing Flash to Android would give it a leg up the Apple iPhone, which has failed to win over some users due to its lack of Flash support. Flash had been rumored to be coming to the iPhone for months, but that speculation was put to bed in November when Adobe announced that it would roll out Flash capabilities to a host of smartphones, and the iPhone was noticeably absent from that list.
While Adobe has said it wanted to bring Flash to the iPhone, then CEO Steve Jobs once said he's not interested in Flash on the iPhone because it "performs too slow to be useful."
The addition of Flash to Android could reinvigorate the clash of the touch-screen titans as a handful of devices, including the iPhone and the Android-based T-Mobile G1 jockey for touch-screen smartphone supremacy.
Even with the addition of Flash, Android devices won't outsell the iPhone overnight, but it could make or break the buyer's decision when selecting a new smartphone.