The Web is singing this morning. The coming death of Flash on mobile devices has made a lot of tech pundits and developers very happy. There is a big fat “I told you so” coming from all corners the of Internet while all Adobe can do is quietly sit back and rue the day the original iPhone was announced.
There could be several books written about the battle for Flash against mobile. “Steve Jobs’ Last Laugh” could probably be finished in time for the holiday shopping season. “How To Kill Flash For Dummies” would be an enlightening title as well. It is a bittersweet day for many. We want to know: how are you reacting to the passing of Flash for mobile? Take the poll below.
The Fall Of One, The Rise of Another
The fall of one platform is often correlated to the rise of another. Look at Android vs. Blackberry or Chrome vs. Firefox, Google vs. Yahoo, Internet Explorer vs. Netscape. The death of mobile Flash is seen as the ultimate validation of HTML5. The evolution of this battle on mobile will take place with native apps vs. Web apps though there is no clear indication yet what will ultimately be the winner in that sweepstakes.
Adobe will now focus on HTML5 development and tools that can be used to help developers. The company’s recent acquisition of PhoneGap maker Nitobi will help ease the pain in Adobe’s mobile development cycles and should not be overlooked as a major factor in this decision to kill mobile Flash.
The pages of ReadWriteWeb have been filled with Flash news for the last four years. Like so many things in the last decade, the argument was created by our generation’s largest tech luminary, Steve Jobs. A lot of pundits and tech insiders took Jobs’ words for gospel and that fueled the bashing of Flash that has led to this point. On the other hand, there have been a lot of hardworking people (with a lot of money) that have tried to fix the problems Flash had on mobile devices for the last several years. This cannot be a good day for them as something they have been working on for years has been obsoleted overnight.
Take a look at some of the highlights of our Flash coverage from the last couple of years and take the poll below to let us know how you feel.
ReadWriteWeb’s Notable Flash Coverage:
- Steve Jobs Wins: Adobe to Give Up Mobile Flash for HTML5
- Steve Jobs Speaks: Why We Don’t Allow Flash on iPhones and iPads
- On Mobile Flash, Apple Stands Alone
- Does HTML5 Really Beat Flash? The Surprising Results of New Tests
- EU May Force Flash Onto Apple Products
- Adobe Releases Flash to HTML5 Conversion Tool
- HTML5 Scores a Point as SlideShare Ditches Flash Entirely
- Adobe: Flash is an Exception to Windows 8’s ‘Plug-in Free’ Rule
- Adobe Flash Player 10.2 Ready For Honeycomb; Honeycomb Not Ready For Anything
- Farewell Flash? Adobe Launches HTML5 Web Animations Tool “Adobe Edge”
- Google Swiffy Converts Flash to HTML5
- B&N’s Nook Color Gets Apps, Flash & More in Major Update
- Flash Video Comes to the iPhone, iPad with Skyfire
- How to Install Flash on your iPhone (The Easy Way)
- Apple Approved: iSwifter Lets You Play Popular Flash Games on the iPad
- Worried About Flash on the iPad? Apple Tries to Ease Your Fears
- No Flash? No Worries: Majority of Online Video Now Available in HTML5
- YouTube: Flash Still Beats HTML5
- Flash Now Importable to HTML5 Canvas
- Death to Flash: 3 Great HTML 5 Demos
- Adobe Celebrates, But Will Flash Developers Return to Apple?
- Proof of Concept Brings Flash to the iPhone
- MobiUs Accelerates Mobile HTML5 Development, Aims to Kill Mobile Flash
