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Even before the iPhone officially launched, speculation over whether it would run a version of Adobe (Nasdaq: ADBE) System's immensely popular Flash multimedia software ran rampant. Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) CEO Steve Jobs famously noted that Flash just wasn't ready for iPhone, though Adobe has said in the past that it intends bring Flash to the device.
The issue has arisen once again following a tiny comment from Adobe's Chief Executive Officer Shantanu Narayen, who last week spoke to Bloomberg Television for an interview from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. He told the news agency that the task of building a version of Flash for the iPhone has been challenging and that the onus is on Adobe to come up with a solution.
What's That Mean?
It's unclear whether Adobe is working very closely with Apple or simply acting as a third-party developer, though Narayen has previously noted that Adobe has remained interested in working with Apple to bring Flash to the iPhone.
"This is one of the most speculated topics in the iPhone market -- whether or not Flash will make it to the iPhone -- and we're hyper sensitive about any comments made by Apple or Adobe employees," Raven Zachary, founder of iPhoneDevCamp and a contributing analyst for The 451 Group, told MacNewsWorld.
Either way, fully-integrated support for Flash via the iPhone OS may not be coming any time soon, he added.
"I don't see Apple integrating Flash into mobile Safari on the iPhone -- I think we'll see a dedicated Flash browser or a Flash player that is downloadable from the App Store. Apple has already allowed third-party browsers, and I think Adobe will follow that model," Zachary explained.
"I know there are a lot of people who are looking forward to Flash arriving on the iPhone, but I think this is going to be a separate endeavor by Adobe," he added.
More Than Video
A common misperception of Flash is that it's simply another way to provide streaming video. While that's part of the what the technology does, Flash is a lot more than just a video driver.
"If you go to a site like Kongregate.com, there are thousands of games. Flash was developed to provide low-bandwidth, highly optimized animation capabilities to the Web, and it's grown as a platform to be able to do fully featured applications," Zachary explained.
While many desktop PC users get YouTube video via Flash, for example, it's a bit different on the iPhone.
"If you use YouTube on the iPhone, you're getting direct compressed H.264 video," Zachary said.
But They Have Flash
"Symbian and Windows Mobile have supported Flash for a number of years," Chris Hazelton, research director of Mobile and Wireless for The 451 Group, told MacNewsWorld.
In addition to any technical hurdles, Flash may be an area of reluctance for Apple because it could let developers bypass the Apple App Store.
"If iPhone supported Flash, it would be very helpful for developers who are interested in putting together Web applications for iPhone -- so they don't have to develop within the rules of the Apple App Store," Hazelton noted.
Can't See the Web Page!
"There's still a significant portion of the Web that has Flash, and most iPhone owners have grown accustomed to the fact that a percentage of the Web sites they visit from their iPhone won't work ... especially boutique Web sites like restaurants and retail, where you go to the center of the page, you see a question mark, and you can't navigate," Zachary said.
Still, there are certainly some situations in which the lack of Flash support is more than a mere inconvenience to finding dinner.
"Flash is only becoming more and more prevalent online. It's especially hard if you're using a device and you're out in the field and you need information -- but you can't get it because the iPhone doesn't support Flash," Hazelton said.
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