Adobe to release Flash player for mobile — except iPhone

Adobe Systems announced Monday that the next version of their Flash player will run on smartphones, with the notable exception of the iPhone.

Adobe said that when Flash 10.1 officially launches in mid-2010 it will run on smartphones running Google's Android, BlackBerry OS, Nokia's Symbian, Palm's WebOS and Windows Mobile, as well as on PCs, Macs and other internet-enabled devices.  

Flash is a software platform that enables multimedia and interactive presentations on the internet, including video players such as YouTube, and online games.

Adobe says Flash 10.1 will allow streaming high-definition video on all supported devices, including smartphones.

The update will also add support for multitouch gestures, such as zooming using two fingers, and accelerometer input, such as tilting and shaking.

This will mark the first time that the full version of Flash will run on mobile devices. A lightweight version of the platform, called Flash Lite, is currently available for smartphones, with the exception of the iPhone.

Apple must approve all software for the iPhone for download from the iTunes App Store, and so far the company hasn't found any version of Flash that meets its approval. Apple CEO Steve Jobs has reportedly said that the full version of Flash runs too slowly on the iPhone, and Flash Lite has too few features.

"[The iPhone is] still a closed device and not much progress there," an Adobe spokesperson told Matt Buchanan of the technology blog Gizmodo.

A public beta version of Flash 10.1 for Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Windows Mobile and WebOS is expected to be available later this year, the company said in a release. The beta version for Android and Symbian will come in early 2010.

Adobe also said that they are collaborating with RIM to bring Flash to Blackberry smartphones.