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Three months ago, it seemed Flash was as good as dead. Now, with a new Flash player for the Android platform and some big companies throwing their support behind the format, the technology looks like it won’t become history just yet.
Following the partnership with Google for Android OS, Adobe is finding more supporters for its video format. Nokia, and Opera, the browser maker, have announced they’ll be sticking with Flash.
“It is the only proprietary part of the Web we support,” Opera co-founder von Tetzchner stated at the recent Open Mobile conference in London,PC Mag reports.
Nokia will also continue its support for Flash, says Alberto Torres, Nokia’s vice-president for business solutions.
In addition, reports claim media giants Time Warner and NBC Universal won’t be replacing Flash with HTML5 anytime soon. Time Warner has been especially opposed to the subscription model allegedly promoted by Apple.
No surprise there, as Time Warner announced a big deal with Adobe last year to bring online properties such as Warner Bros. Entertainment, Turner Broadcasting System, and Home Box office.
The war for the future of online video started when in 2007, iPhone appeared and surprised the world (and its future users) by completely nixing support for Flash. Apple stepped up the anti-Flash campaign by not allowing any Flash-developed applications on the iPhone and iPad, with Jobs himself leading the PR effort.
Recent months have seen major websites like YouTub, Vimeo and The New York Times embrace the HTML5 format which the iPhone and iPad can run. Disney, in which Jobs is the largest individual shareholder, launched an iPad app that includes all ABC shows for free. Other networks such as CNN and Fox have also started using HTML5 on their sites.
Meanwhile, Adobe is trying to fight back. Last week, it showed a beta version of Flash Player 10.1 for Google’s Android OS. Flash would require Android version 2.2 aka ‘FroYo’. Android 2.2 will be the the first mobile platform that fully supports Flash, instead of the stripped-down Flash Lite version.
The launch of Flash Player 10.1 for Android, along with support from big players like Nokia and Time Warner, points to a vigorous effort by Adobe to push back against Apple’s criticism. This trench warfare is bound to continue for a while.
Photo: Flash Player 10.1 on Nexus One (Keith Axline/Wired.com)
