Adobe Brings Flash to iPhone and iPad without Asking Apple

KOMPAS.com - The battle between Adobe, maker of the popular Flash video software used in more than 50 per cent of websites, and Apple, which refuses to allow it to work on many of its devices, is one of the bitterest in corporate history.

But Adobe has now created a 'cheat' that allows Flash video to play freely on Apple's devices - without Apple signing it off. But don't expect Flash to start working immediately on every website you visit - with some video-industry insiders describing the new solution as a 'fudge'.

The new solution works for publishers who want videos stored in Flash to be visible on popular Apple products such as iPhone, iPods and iPads. At present, Apple limits the web-browsing software in their handhelds so it is difficult for many users to see web video barring videos from YouTube.

Home users, though, won't see a difference immediately - and will have to wait for their favourite websites to buy into Adobe's new software. Until then, they'll be looking at blank spaces in many of their favourite websites - as they have been since iPhone's launch.

For a recurring fee of $4,500, the company's Flash Media Server 4.5 software converts website video stored in Flash so it can be seen on Apple handhelds, in an Apple-friendly format called HTTP Live Streaming.

Mike MacNamara, CTO of NextShoot, a London video agency, says, 'We've been offering a similar player to our customers for 18 months - many companies demand it.'

'While it's great that Adobe have caught up this really isn't Flash on the iPad.

'A $4500 price tag is excessive - it remains to be seen whether the 'one stop shop' can thrive when there are so many cheaper solutions.'

Adobe's once-ubiquitous technology is now under threat from new web technologies - approved by Apple - such as HTML5. Many insiders fear that this 'half-way-house' solution is a compromise that does not allow Adobe to compete with rival technologies and video-streaming companies that are moving into its market.

For now, at least, it seems likely that users who buy a shiny new iPad 2 will still turn on Apple's web browser, Safari, and be confronted by videos that refuse to play.