Adobe Steps Up Mobile Push, Eyes TV Applications
Adobe is aiming for greater use of its Flash Player multimedia Web software within mobile and other non-PC devices, Anup Murarka, director of partner development and technology strategy, said in an interview. Adobe is working with Google on Android offerings, and the DTV transition provides significant opportunities for his company, which will port Flash to TV devices, he said.
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A Flash plug-in running on Android mobile operating system for a global Tier 1 carrier will be released in Q1 next year, Murarka said. He didn’t name the carrier, but noted several carriers are members of the Adobe-led Open Screen Project (OSP), an industry-wide initiative supporting rich Web experience across platforms. The group will have some new members this year, including content providers and wireless carriers, he said. For companies that are committed to the goals of OSP, Adobe will waive the per-device royalty, he said. “We see a dramatic growth in demand for desktop compatible Web experiences on smartphones.” He forecast Flash to reach over 40 percent of new handset shipments this year. The biggest challenge is to get Adobe’s runtime multimedia application to work on different devices, he said. Some analysts forecast T-Mobile to carry the first Flash- enabled Android phone.
While migrating desktop-compatible software to mobile devices will remain Adobe’s priority for some time, the company has started focusing on enterprising offerings, Murarka said. The company saw growing interest from IT organizations to build enterprise applications that are easier to develop, he said. Analysts praised the strategy, saying broadening the client base will help the company diversify its revenue sources and better position itself in future economic downturns. Video and advertising are two other focus areas, Murarka said.
Another goal is to port Flash beyond phones. The company is looking at the auto and health care industries and is broadening the use of Flash into TV, Murarka said. Most new mobile devices this year have more processing power and a better application CPU than a typical TV set-top box, making them more capable of supporting Flash, he said. The company is working with chip maker Broadcom to integrate Adobe’s Flash multimedia platform into Broadcom’s DTV and set-top box system-on-a-chip platforms, Broadcom said. By adapting Flash for TV platforms, viewers can view Flash-based content and applications from different online content providers and entertainment sites.