Adobe Gives-up On iPhone, Switches Focus to Android
Earlier this month, Cupertino-based software developer Apple updated its iPhone developer program license and in doing so it banned cross-compiled applications. Applications developed with Adobe’s Packager for iPhone (included in Adobe Flash Professional CS5) for example fall in this category.
Here’s the clause in the license that stipulates cross-compiled apps are a big no-no: “3.3.1 - Applications may only use Documented APIs in the manner prescribed by Apple and must not use or call any private APIs. Applications must be originally written in Objective-C, C, C++, or JavaScript as executed by the iPhone OS WebKit engine, and only code written in C, C++, and Objective-C may compile and directly link against the Documented APIs (e.g., Applications that link to Documented APIs through an intermediary translation or compatibility layer or tool are prohibited).”
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The aftermath of Apple’s decision to ban cross-compiled applications was this: Adobe announced that it will ditch Flash for the iPhone. According to Adobe's principal product manager for the Flash platform, Mike Chambers, the ability to target the iPhone and iPad in Flash CS5 will continue to be provided. But Adobe no longer wants to invest anything in the feature.
“The primary goal of Flash has always been to enable cross browser, platform and device development. The cool web game that you build can easily be targeted and deployed to multiple platforms and devices. However, this is the exact opposite of what Apple wants. They want to tie developers down to their platform, and restrict their options to make it difficult for developers to target other platforms,” commented Mike Chambers.
Adobe will now shift its attention to the Google-developed Android operating system and the Android-powered tablets that will be released later this year. In this regard Adobe will roll out Flash Player 10.1 and Adobe AIR 2.0 for Android.
Earlier this month, Cupertino-based software developer Apple updated its iPhone developer program license and in doing so it banned cross-compiled applications. Applications developed with Adobe’s Packager for iPhone (included in Adobe Flash Professional CS5) for example fall in this category.