Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Applications
    • Applications
    • Development
    • Mobile
    • Networking

    Adobe Killing Flash Mobile Development

    By
    Darryl K. Taft
    -
    November 9, 2011
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      After announcing plans to restructure and lay off 750 employees, Adobe has followed up with news of plans to shut down its work on the mobile version of its Flash Player.

      According to a report first seen on ZDNet, Adobe told developer partners of its plans to stop development of its Flash mobile browser plug-in technology. There is a bit of irony in the news of Adobe halting Flash for mobile development, as another ZDNet report indicates that Microsoft may soon be ending the life of Flash rival technology Silverlight.

      According to the Flash report, Adobe sent a notice out to developers saying:

      ““Our future work with Flash on mobile devices will be focused on enabling Flash developers to package native apps with Adobe AIR for all the major app stores. We will no longer adapt Flash Player for mobile devices to new browser, OS version or device configurations. Some of our source code licensees may opt to continue working on and releasing their own implementations. We will continue to support the current Android and PlayBook configurations with critical bug fixes and security updates.”“

      Walter Luh, CEO and co-founder of Ansca and former lead architect of Flash Lite at Adobe, told eWEEK: “It’s pretty clear that Adobe was becoming increasingly irrelevant in the mobile space. Flash just wasn’t getting traction. So they had to do something. That something was embracing HTML5 and doing what Adobe does best: create the best tools on the planet for creative professionals. The irony, of course, is one of the main reasons Adobe acquired Macromedia was because of Flash and the opportunity to play a dominant role in mobile content.”

      Indeed, Luh said he is not surprised at Adobe’s decision to abandon Flash mobile development, particularly after watching the keynotes at Adobe’s MAX 2011 conference. Luh said in previous years, Flash was king. “But this year, Flash was treated as an afterthought, and instead, HTML5 was front and center-with new tools focused on the latter like Adobe Edge,” he said.

      Back when Luh was at Adobe from 2005-2007, he said he saw two main problems for Flash in the context of mobile that Adobe failed to address: “The first was legacy technology. They had the opportunity to invest in building the next-generation foundation for Flash very early on, but didn’t read the hardware trends correctly. Instead of making a bet on smartphones, they focused on [at the time] the mass-market feature phones. The second was ignoring developers. A lot of the early mobile Flash developers wanted to create stand-alone apps, but Adobe wanted to build a mobile platform, so they focused on trying to get distribution of their Web plug-in on mobile phones. There was an impedance mismatch and Adobe just took too long to come to the right conclusions.”

      Luh and Ansca co-founder Carlos Icaza left Adobe in 2007 and started Ansca Mobile, which produces the Corona SDK for mobile app development, after Adobe refused to overhaul Flash for the then-looming smartphone platform, he said.

      For its part, in announcing its plans to restructure, Adobe officials said the company will focus on two primary markets: digital media and digital marketing. In digital media, the company is an industry leader in content authoring solutions, enabling customers to create, distribute and monetize digital content. In digital marketing, the company intends to be the leader in solutions to manage, measure and optimize digital marketing and advertising, Adobe officials said.

      Adobe’s digital media growth strategy revolves around its recently announced Creative Cloud and will enable the company to rapidly deliver new product capabilities and services, penetrate untapped market segments, and increase overall engagement with customers, the company said.

      Darryl K. Taft
      Darryl K. Taft covers the development tools and developer-related issues beat from his office in Baltimore. He has more than 10 years of experience in the business and is always looking for the next scoop. Taft is a member of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and was named 'one of the most active middleware reporters in the world' by The Middleware Co. He also has his own card in the 'Who's Who in Enterprise Java' deck.
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Latest News

      Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

      James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
      I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
      Read more
      Applications

      Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

      James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
      I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
      Read more
      IT Management

      Intuit’s Nhung Ho on AI for the...

      James Maguire - May 13, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nhung Ho, Vice President of AI at Intuit, about adoption of AI in the small and medium-sized business market, and how...
      Read more
      Applications

      Kyndryl’s Nicolas Sekkaki on Handling AI and...

      James Maguire - November 9, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nicolas Sekkaki, Group Practice Leader for Applications, Data and AI at Kyndryl, about how companies can boost both their AI and...
      Read more
      Cloud

      IGEL CEO Jed Ayres on Edge and...

      James Maguire - June 14, 2022 0
      I spoke with Jed Ayres, CEO of IGEL, about the endpoint sector, and an open source OS for the cloud; we also spoke about...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×