Adobe and HTC are bringing Flash to Android on its new Hero smartphone. The implementation will support video and audio codecs familiar to users of Flash on the desktop.
The HTC Hero delivers powerful, compatible video playback performance using Flash technology, and interactive content enabled by ActionScript® 2.0. Users can enjoy and navigate through Web videos using intuitive video controls. With progressive streaming of large MP3 audio files from a Web server and the local file storage, the HTC Hero provides a seamless audio experience. Support for Sorenson and On2 VP6 codecs enables higher quality video and playback of existing Web content. A demo of the user experience enabled by the Flash Platform on the HTC Hero and the Android operating system can be viewed at www.adobe.com/go/htchero.
Not official word on availability right now but it should arrive with the new Hero handset this summer and in the US later this year on, it is assumed, T-Mobile’s version of the Hero device. There is no information on whether this implementation will be available on other handsets – the G1, for example – at this time.
Adobe and HTC Bring Flash Platform to Android
New HTC Hero Delivers More Complete Web Browsing Experience with Adobe Flash Technology
SAN JOSE, Calif. and LONDON — June 24, 2009 — Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) and HTC, a global designer of mobile phones, today announced that the new HTC Hero is the first Android phone to ship with support for Adobe® Flash® Platform technology. The new phone delivers a more complete Web browsing experience and provides access to a broad variety of Flash technology based content available on the Web today.
“As the first Android device with Flash, the new HTC Hero represents a key milestone for Android and the Flash Platform. With close to 80 percent of all videos online delivered with Adobe Flash technology, consumers want to access rich Web content on-the-go.” said David Wadhwani, vice president and general manager, Platform Business Unit at Adobe. “The collaboration with HTC offers people a more complete Flash based Web browsing experience today and presents an important step towards full Web browsing with Flash Player 10 on mobile phones in the future.”
The new HTC Hero is a key element of the HTC experience and a new generation of HTC mobile phones and devices. Users can browse and discover a broad set of Web content and applications not supported by mobile phones in the past. People can also view YouTube videos using Flash technology, and enable full screen viewing mode by simply double tapping the screen.
“Adobe Flash is an important core technology for people interacting and experiencing the Web, it is only natural to be offering it on the new HTC Hero first,” said John Wang, chief marketing officer, HTC Corporation. “We look forward to continuing our close collaboration with Adobe and to bringing Flash Player 10 support to our phones in the future.”
The HTC Hero delivers powerful, compatible video playback performance using Flash technology, and interactive content enabled by ActionScript® 2.0. Users can enjoy and navigate through Web videos using intuitive video controls. With progressive streaming of large MP3 audio files from a Web server and the local file storage, the HTC Hero provides a seamless audio experience. Support for Sorenson and On2 VP6 codecs enables higher quality video and playback of existing Web content. A demo of the user experience enabled by the Flash Platform on the HTC Hero and the Android operating system can be viewed at www.adobe.com/go/htchero.
HTC Participates in Open Screen Project
HTC also announced its participation in the Open Screen Project, a broad industry effort to deliver a consistent runtime across screens and to provide access to all Flash technology based Web content in the future. As a contributor to the initiative, HTC is collaborating with Adobe and more than 25 other industry leaders to bring Flash Player 10 and full Web browsing to the next generation of Android based smartphones and other mobile computing platforms and devices. For more details on the Open Screen Project, visit www.openscreenproject.org.
About Adobe Flash Platform
The Adobe Flash Platform is a complete system of integrated tools, frameworks, clients and servers for the development of Web applications, content and video that runs consistently across operating systems and devices. Adobe Flash Player content reaches over 98 percent of Internet-enabled desktops, and Adobe Flash technology is the No.1 platform for video on the Web. In addition, the mobile runtime has shipped and delivered Flash technology based content on close to 40 percent of all new mobile phones and devices in 2008. For more information about the Adobe Flash Platform visit www.adobe.com/flashplatform. For details on the goals set for the Adobe Flash Platform as part of the Open Screen Project, visit www.openscreenproject.org
About Adobe Systems Incorporated
Adobe revolutionizes how the world engages with ideas and information – anytime, anywhere and through any medium. For more information, visit www.adobe.com.
About HTC
HTC Corporation (HTC) is one of the fastest growing companies in the mobile phone industry and continues to pioneer industry-leading mobile experiences through design, usability and innovation that is sparked by how the mobile phone can improve how people live and communicate. The company is listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange under ticker 2498. For more information about HTC, please visit www.htc.com.
The link [ http://www.adobe.com/go/htchero ] from the quote is broken.
Doesn’t look like it’s up.
looks like the link is up now.
thx for the article. by the way, Near the end of the video, it mentioned that it is not full flash player 10 yet.
Hi John,
I wish Apple also supported Flash. Its really frustrating when I can’t watch certain Flash enabled websites and videos. I hope Apple makes a deal with Adobe soon.
Thanks for the great post.
Mani Raj
Havoc Marketing
Apple can’t even get Flash right in OS X. I don’t even want to think about what a horrible battery drain Flash would be in iPhone OS.
flash not good for apple’s cash cow, the app store.
They don’t want people to play free minigames online, listen to web radios and watch TV shows without their control
Exactly. Flash on OS X is absolute garbage. View a YouTube video and watch as your CPU spikes to unheard of levels. It’s abysmal.
What does Apple have to do with Adobes OSX programming?
Hey, if you don’t want anything to drain your battery, toss your phone out the window and write notes to people.
Sorry Adobe, but that sounds just like a port of Flash Lite 2 to Android. AS2 and On2 VP6 should me more like AS3 and H.264 if this would really be Flash Player 10. Oh, and even Flash Lite 3 has H.264 support….
Did you watch the presentation? It’s not Flash Lite (and even it was, great), and they’re moving to get Flash 10 on the device.
Yes, they said 10, but actionscript 2 and VP6 are technologies that are Flash 8 and below.
Nice move!
Actionscript 2.0? I didn’t know anyone used 2.0 anymore. :0
ActionScript 2 is used on the mobile versions. Typical of Adobe, there are multiple versions on multiple platforms that require Adobe immersion to sort out.
I am not looking forward to Flash on the iPhone. It didn’t get anywhere on the other supported devices, so I fail to understand how it would suddenly make Flash a mobile powerhouse here.
re: “…there are multiple versions on multiple platforms….”
True, at least for today. In previous years there have been special “older” versions of Adobe Flash Player for use on constrained devices. But over the past year, as more consumers invest in higher-end smartphones, it’s more practical to unite the laptop and the mobile, with a single version of the engine available across device form-factors.
This is what the Open Screen Project has been working on for the past year, and we expect to have developer previews available this autumn. One important part of this is the ability to do “over the air” updates to minimize versioning issues.
More info is in the OSP FAQ:
http://www.openscreenproject.org/about/faq.html
And here’s a list of manufacturers who are working on enabling such “full web updates” in their devices:
http://www.openscreenproject.org/partners/current_partners.html
jd/adobe
it’s flash lite NOW, but will be flash 10 by october
This version of Flash has been available on XDA-Developers for a while. The only Flash content I’ve seen it actually render is Adobe’s About Flash page.
I’ve been developing AS3 exclusively since 2007. and Adobe has repeatedly said AS2 is dead, so it’s a bit saddening to see them launch a half-baked Flash Android build and spin it as awesomeness.
Flash 10 for Android should be released at MAX this Fall though, with full AVM2/AS3 support. That will be cool.
I’m stoked about this, and will be 10x more excited when Apple plays nice with Flash.
Kiddies you get so excited over nothing…It’s just another lame Adobe/Flash announcement. Until they get “full” Flash to work on mobile they’re all meaningless announcements. And getting full on mobile AND it working well is another whole issue and may be beyond Adobe’s capabilities, it’s eluded them so far.
this is useful
I’m not a fan … it slows progress to keep your mind focused on your perceived need for proprietary solutions like this when we can see and witness a new world.
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Running Coach is the ultimate phone application dedicated to fitness
and running.
This upcoming application allows to :
- monitor your run in real time: time, distance, speed, elevation, map & satellite
- once your run is completed, send the full track by SMS or email with map & satellite KML file attached
- display performance statistics and analysis of all your tracked runs
- extra feature: progress with a lot of detailed training plans for all distances and levels
- it can all be done from your phone, no extra installation or data upload on your computer is needed!
I think an app like this is long overdue since coming out with G1. Before they put products on the shelves, they should have already have this.
finally Adobe decided to expand their influence on mobile technology. great news. good to know that flash compoents become more and more popular these days.