Adobe lashes out against iPad's Flash snub

Software provider Adobe Systems is taking Apple to task for its decision to withhold support for Adobe's Flash multimedia platform from the computing giant's forthcoming iPad tablet device. Writing on the Adobe Flash Platform Blog, marketing group manager Adrian Ludwig contends that without Flash support, "there's something important missing from Apple's approach to connecting consumers to content... It looks like Apple is continuing to impose restrictions on their devices that limit both content publishers and consumers. Unlike many other ebook readers using the ePub file format, consumers will not be able to access ePub content with Apple's DRM technology on devices made by other manufacturers. And without Flash support, iPad users will not be able to access the full range of web content, including over 70 percent of games and 75 percent of video on the web. If I want to use the iPad to connect to Disney, Hulu, Miniclip, Farmville, ESPN, Kongregate or JibJab--not to mention the millions of other sites on the web--I'll be out of luck."

The iPad is not the sole Apple device excluding Flash support, of course--in March 2008, Apple CEO Steve Jobs contended the iPhone requires a media player more robust than the existing Flash mobile solution. According to Jobs, the Flash Player for laptops fits the bill, but it is designed for devices larger than the iPhone, and therefore performs too slowly on smartphones. "There's this missing product in the middle," Jobs said. Late last year, Adobe announced Flash was finally coming to the iPhone, although not in its customary web browser plug-in format--instead, developers can create and export iPhone and iPod touch applications via the Flash Professional CS5 programming tool, which leverages the same source code used to deliver applications across desktops and devices.

For more on Adobe's response to the iPad snub:
- read this Adobe Flash Platform Blog entry