Adobe, ARM Team to Boost Flash and AIR for ARM-Powered Devices

SAN FRANCISCO -- Adobe and ARM have announced a technology collaboration to optimize Adobe Flash Player 10 and Adobe AIR for ARM powered devices, ranging from mobile phones to set-top boxes, mobile Internet devices, televisions, automotive platforms, personal media players and other mobile computing devices.

At the Adobe MAX 2008 conference here, officials from both companies said the collaboration is expected to accelerate mobile graphics and video capabilities on ARM platforms to bring rich Internet applications (RIAs) and Web services to mobile devices and consumer electronics worldwide.

The joint technology optimization is targeted for the ARMv6 and ARMv7 architectures used in the ARM11 family and the Cortex-A series of processors and is expected to be available in the second half of 2009, company officials said.

Moreover, the new partnership stems from the Open Screen Project, a broad Adobe-sponsored initiative of industry leaders - including ARM - to deliver a consistent runtime environment across multiple devices by taking advantage of Adobe Flash Player and, in the future, Adobe AIR, Adobe said. The initiative is set to address the challenges of Web browsing on a broad range of screens and remove the barriers to publish content and applications seamlessly across screens, the company said.

“Video created for the Adobe Flash Player is the leading video format on the Web today, and this collaboration with ARM is another important step towards bringing the complete Web experience to mobile devices worldwide,” said Gary Kovacs, general manager and vice president, Mobile and Devices at Adobe, in a statement. “We are pleased to work with ARM and the other industry leaders in the Open Screen Project to make browsing and applications as rich and powerful in mobile as they are on the desktop.”

“ARM believes this partnership will develop optimized Adobe Flash and AIR implementations that will run on billions of devices from our partners such as pocket-sized mobile devices, mobile computing platforms, set-top boxes, digital TVs and automotive infotainment,” said Ian Drew, vice president of marketing at ARM. "The combination of Adobe Flash and ARM’s low-power processor IP and Mali GPUs will ensure a fantastic Internet experience for consumers on the world’s leading 32-bit architecture.”

Meanwhile, several industry players weighed in with support for the Adobe/ARM partnership.

“Samsung looks forward to having Flash Player 10 and AIR fully supported on our range of optimized ARM technology-based Application Processors and SoC products,” said Yiwan Wong, vice president of marketing, Samsung Electronics’ System LSI Division, in a statement. “This initiative will enable Flash Player 10 content to be accessible by any ARM technology-based consumer devices with a screen and connectivity, and at very low power consumption, offering consumers the ultimate mobile Internet experience beyond what is available today on standard PC platforms.”

Also in a statement, Michael Rayfield, general manager of NVIDIA's mobile business, said: “NVIDIA is working with ARM and Adobe to ensure Adobe Flash technology takes full advantage of NVIDIA Tegra computer-on-a-chip solutions through open standards such as OpenGL ES 2.0. ARM CPU technology, tightly integrated with NVIDIA's ultra-low-power GeForce GPUs and media acceleration, enhances the ability of Adobe Flash technology to provide the full Web experience and compelling user interfaces in the palm of your hand.”

The Adobe/ARM agreement will enable ARM and Adobe to deliver an optimized Adobe Flash Player 10 for the ARM architecture as well as API support for GPUs and hardware accelerators. The collaboration is also expected to lower power consumption for mobile devices running Flash Player 10 and AIR content.

Moreover, Adobe Flash Player 10 for ARMv6 and ARMv7 architecture-based hardware is expected to be available royalty-free to partners participating in the Open Screen Project. Flash Player 10 for ARM processor-based devices will be made available to OEMs by Adobe.