While we all know BlackBerry smartphones have no use for Flash, the BlackBerry PlayBook does rely quite heavily on it so the information of Adobe's Flash Player for mobile no longer being supported is an interesting one. As reported by ZDNet from a purported debriefing document sent to developers:

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.

Now if Adobe makes this official later today as expected -- it really won't mean much for the BlackBerry PlayBook. The PlayBook will still get security fixes and updates as needed but it certainly does make us wonder about future BBX devices that are already in the pipeline. Either way, we'll wait and see how this one pans out. Looks like HTML5 is winning this 'war of the internet'.

Source: ZDNet

Although BlackBerry smartphones are yet to support Adobe Flash and Adobe AIR, the BlackBerry PlayBook handles both quite nicely. Some new announcements from Adobe today, let us know that the integration with the BlackBerry PlayBook Tablet OS has quite a few changes coming to it for the better. Flash Player 11 and AIR 3 frameworks have just been announced and with those releases Adobe is looking to take things to the next level.

Adobes new framework allows for not only 2D content but now 3D content when creating games, something that Adobe promises will deliver a richer, more immerse experience across a multitude of platforms including the BlackBerry Tablet OS, Android and even iOS.

The frameworks don't stop there though -- for developers who are interested in creating applications Adobe, has a lot built into these releases. NFC, content protection, HD Video acrosss platforms, rental and subscription support and more. If you're looking to be building applications using the Adobe tools, you'll want to read on past the break for the full details.

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Press Release

Flash Builder 4.5 and Flex 4.5 Update Available Today

SAN JOSE, Calif.-- (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today delivered an update to Adobe® Flash® Builder® 4.5 and Flex 4.5 software to enable developers to build applications for iPhone, iPad and BlackBerry PlayBook. Support for Android devices was released in April 2011. Developers now have a single platform for building highly expressive mobile applications that can be distributed via the Android Market, Apple App Store and BlackBerry App World. Offered standalone or as part of Creative Suite® 5.5 Web Premium and Master Collection, Flash Builder 4.5 enables the creation of applications that work seamlessly across leading mobile device platforms.

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As Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 was released only a little under a month ago, it is only natural for Adobe to start touring around the world showing us wonderers what the future with professional tools from Adobe could look like. Dubbed "Adobe CS5 Creativity Evolved", Adobe Certified Experts Paul Trani and Terry White take over the digitally-dependent world among other Adobe experts to demonstrate and discuss the tremendous library of functions contained within Adobe's freshly released software package.

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Today Adobe issued a press release on the strong adoption of both Adobe AIR and Flash on mobile devices. While we won't be seeing full Flash integration on current BlackBerry smartphones anytime soon, we will have the PlayBook to look forward to. Adobe confirmed that Flash 10.2 will be available on the BlackBerry PlayBook and Flash 10.2 includes support for Stage Video which "delivers much improved video performance through optimizing hardware acceleration on mobile devices, desktops and TVs. Stage Video decreases processor and memory usage while enabling higher frame rates and improved video quality." Definitely one of the many things to look forward to on the PlayBook!

Press Release

Adobe Reports Strong Mobile Adoption of Flash Player and AIR; High Expectations for 2011

Company Showcases Performance Advancements with Flash Player 10.2

BARCELONA, Spain--(EON: Enhanced Online News)--At Mobile World Congress, Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) announced that developers and content publishers can now deploy Adobe® AIR® applications to more than 84 million smartphones and tablets running Android and iOS. Thousands of applications have been created and made available on Android Market and Apple's App Store to date. By the end of 2011, Adobe expects more than 200 million smartphones and tablets to support Adobe AIR applications. For examples of popular AIR applications for Android and iOS, visit m.flash.com.

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If you're developing any Adobe AIR apps for the BlackBerry PlayBook then this update should excite you. The SDK for Adobe AIR has been updated to v0.9.2 and introduces some features that were previously not available to the BlackBerry PlayBook. The key ones, as noted in our live blog being the ability to add custom app splash screens as well as the ability to make use of potrait mode within the BlackBerry PlayBook. Many folks had portrait mode at the top of their list and finally Research In Motion has taken care of that. You can grab the latest Adobe AIR SDK from the BlackBerry developers page today.

Download the updated Adobe AIR SDK

For those of you who missed the full presentation or are not wanting to watch the replay via the AdobeMAX website, Adobe has now posted a longer version of the BlackBerry PlayBook demo to Youtube. Kevin summed it all for us earlier today so, just sit back and enjoy this one. Needless to say, my desire to own a BlackBerry PlayBook has increased many times over.

* Click Here to Read the Full Press Release on the new BlackBerry Tablet OS SDK! *

Research In Motion is wasting no time in reaching out to developers when it comes to the BlackBerry PlayBook. As we've seen more recently in the past, Research In Motion will be hosting some upcoming webcasts all of which are dedicated to developing Adobe AIR application on the BlackBerry PlayBook. As the information tells us:

The first webcast of a five week series hosted by RIM and Adobe experts will start on November 4, 2010 and will provide developers the opportunity to learn more about creating Adobe AIR applications for the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet.  Developers interested in signing up for the webcast series can visit www.blackberry.com/developers/tabletos/webcasts.

With the SDK being released, Research In Motion is not only targetting previous BlackBerry developers but rather, any developer out there that has worked with multiple platforms. Rather than being limited to just the BlackBerry JDE developers can now make use of Flash, HTML, C++ and of course Adobe AIR 2.5.

• Click Here To Register For The Upcoming Developer Webcasts >>

With the battle going on between Adobe and Apple right down to the adoption of Adobe Flash on some Android devices, seems there is no escaping talk of Flash when it comes to the mobile markets. One thing that we know for sure is that Research In Motion are certainly working together to bring Flash to the BlackBerry platform. The most recent announcement come from Adobe in the form of a Press Release letting folks know that Adobe Flash 10.1 is now available for Android devices in their market place and that other mobile partners have been delivered the goods to get their work started. So with that, we may eventually see their release as well.

"Flash Player 10.1 was also released to mobile platform partners to be supported on devices based on Android, BlackBerry, webOS, future versions of Windows® Phone, LiMo, MeeGo and Symbian OS, and is expected to be made available via over-the-air downloads and to be pre-installed on smart phones, tablets and other devices in the coming months."

Like it or not. Want it or not. Adobe Flash will be arriving on your BlackBerry although, Adobe and Research In Motion still remain quiet as to when, exactly that may be. Of course, we assume that it will be something that only BlackBerry 6 will see with the new Webkit browser but we're not positive there. It just seems to us it may be too much for the older browser to handle.

Source: Adobe