Microsoft Licenses Flash Lite for Windows Mobile

By WC Staff
last updated

Looks like, in addition to Silverlight, Flash Lite will be rolled directly into Windows Mobile by year's end, per MacWorld [via pocketnow]:

Microsoft has licensed Adobe Flash Lite, the Flash Player runtime for mobile devices, so that Windows Mobile phone users can view Flash content in the browser. Microsoft has also licensed the Adobe Reader LE software, so that Windows Mobile users will be able to view PDFs.

We've been pretty pro-Silverlight here at WMExperts, less so with Flash. You're much better off implementing an awesome Full YouTube on Windows Mobile Hack than mucking around with the anemic Flash Lite (although, yes, it will support video). Silverlight seems like it has much more potential as a platform for mobile devices than the resource-intensive Flash and it's weaker little brother, Flash Lite. Let's hope that:

  1. Flash Lite as implemented on Windows Mobile doesn't turn mobile browsing into a slow, punch-the-monkey-ad-filled, and generally painful experience.
  2. Flash Lite doesn't smuggle in the slightly troubling back-door cookie problem that Flash has brought to the desktop.

Yes, we want a better browser on Windows Mobile - but “a better browser” doesn't mean Flash, mmkay? At least Silverlight is coming first - as early as this Spring!

WC Staff
WC Staff
7 Comments
  • Flash video is much more than youtube.
    I think it is very good news, because more and more of the websites I read dont even bother with text anymore, and just do video articles. Unboxing stories are good examples, but even when they discuss a new WM browser they tend to use flash video instead of screen shots these days. Even simple tips and tricks are now done in video.
    Its part of the natural evolution of the web (text, pictures, now video) but whereas WM phones have largely been excluded before, they will now be full web citizens.
    Surur
  • @Dieter:
    Minute I saw this I heard the word "Silverlight" clacking from your keyboard.
    The real question is:
    Microsoft : licensing Flash Lite :: Apple : licensing ActiveSync ?
  • @surur -
    Wouldn't you rather a standard that *didn't suck* would be able to serve these features up to us? It seems to be that Flash's grip on that marketshare isn't nearly as strong as everybody assumes.
  • @Surur:
    Text and pictures (via the IMG container) are open web protocols (though I 'spose you could argue GIF was a Compuserve proprietary format).
    Flash doesn't bring video to the web, it brings Flash to the web. We need an HTML container (VID?) that delivers SWF, MOV, and (what's Silverlight's extension), etc. as easily and transparently (to the developer and end user) as IMG brings JPG, GIF, and PNG.
    If it's just like text and pics, it should be treated just like text and pics, a simple file in a simple container.
  • @surur -
    Wouldn't you rather a standard that *didn't suck* would be able to serve these features up to us? It seems to be that Flash's grip on that marketshare isn't nearly as strong as everybody assumes.
    Besides Apple, I still have to see a chink in the amour, and of course Adobe is rounding on Apple by ensuring all the other competing platforms have their client firmly in place.
    The realities on the ground is very important, as is millions of hours of flash-encoded video library already out there. Using a mobile device to move the gigantic installed desktop base seems rather like the tail wagging the dog, and just predicts that mobile clients will remain second class citizens for years to come. Having desktop compatibility however is really great.
    I suspect they gave MS a pretty good deal in licensing flash lite 3.
    Surur
  • I dunno...I'll use what's available, but I really hates on Adobe. This weekend I installed a 435mb Adobe Photoshop Elements on a 3ghz Pent IV PC and took literally 35 minutes to install.
    Adobe and MS seem like a good combo since they both seem to code for bloat. Now even Apple is on that with their god awful iTunes.
    I wouldn't mind "desktop compatability" if I actually liked where desktop PCs are and where evidently they are going.
  • Listening to Gibson on TrueCrypt when I found out that Adobe (via Macromedia's DRM) over writes the boot sector, making encrypted drives useless. Nice...