Adobe delays Flash Player 10.1 for mobile to late 2010

Adobe Systems announced it will delay release of its Flash Player 10.1 for mobile devices until the second half of 2010. Touted as the first version of the Flash runtime enabling Android, BlackBerry, Windows Phone 7, webOS and Symbian devices to play back the majority of Flash-based content originally written for the web, Flash Player 10.1 was first slated to ship in the second half of 2009, Apple Insider reports.

A Flash Blog posting by Adobe platform evangelist Lee Brimelow notes developers can sign up now for notification when Flash Player 10.1 and Adobe AIR 2.0 betas are released. Specific dates were not disclosed. "We just started the private betas and we are really looking forward to getting these technologies into your hands as soon as possible," Brimelow writes. "There are going to be so many interesting things that you will be able to do on Android and there are also going to be many new skills that you will need to learn, especially if you are new to mobile design."

Adobe Systems is still smarting over Apple's decision to mandate that all applications for its iPhone operating system must be written to run directly on the iPhone platform, effectively banning cross-compiler translation tools like Adobe's new Flash Professional Creative Suite 5. In a recent interview with Fox Business, Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen calls Apple's action a business rather than technology decision, which "hurts consumers"--he adds users will ultimately have final say on Apple's policies by voting "for the experience that they want through their wallet."

UPDATE: Adobe Systems clarified it remains on schedule to release Flash Player 10.1 for mobile prior to mid-year. "Adobe is still on track on making Flash Player 10.1 for mobile platforms including Android available before the end of the first half of 2010," Adobe spokesperson Stefan Offermann told FierceMobileContent via email. The confusion appears to arise from a comment made by Narayen during his Fox Business appearance, where he said "Smartphone companies like Google and RIM and Palm are going to be releasing versions of Flash on smartphones and tablets in the second half of the year." In other words, while Adobe's partners will not deploy Flash Player 10.1 until later this year, Adobe itself is still on target.

For more on the Flash Player 10.1 delay:
- read this Apple Insider article

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