CEOs from ARM, Broadcom, DoCoMo, Google, HTC, Motorola, NVIDIA, Palm, QUALCOMM, and RIM talk about how they’re bringing Flash Platform technologies to their devices and platforms as part of the Open Screen Project and why they think it’s important to have Flash on their devices and platforms.

At Adobe MAX 2009 RIM has become the 19th of the top 20 OEMs to begin work on integrating the Flash Player on their mobile platform.  This is a landmark collaboration announcement in our drive to bring the full Internet to mobile phones and devices.

Over the past few years we have seen RIM devices expand out of the business user category to become a consumer platform.  Many of my friends now use the Curve for Facebook, messaging and surfing the web and they really love their phones.

That’s my guage on success:

1. Do my friends own them?
2. Does my mum know what a Blackberry is?

For developers the Blackberry platform currently provides a Java API and framework for easy application development.  There’s no arguing that the Java runtime has enabled some great applications, and as the App World expands we’ve seen some nice content start to come in.

Our OEM engagements seem much more rounded with RIM joining, a more complete story if you will.

Recently you probably noticed that I’ve been working on Android a little, and for good reason of course.  Though it would be easy to focus this post on Android, let’s just look at some of the places where Google use Flash today.

• Youtube
• Google Maps
• Site Search
• Web Search
• Chrome / OS

So you see Flash is everywhere at Google and we’ve been working together for years to build upon this relationship.  Google joining the Open Screen Project may seem like a matter of course given our demo’s last year and given their investments in the Flash Platform.

In the past few months we’ve seen stellar device launches from HTC and Motorola using Android.  Those of you with beady eyes will also have spotted others from Sony Ericsson and “others” coming down the pipe soon.

I want ALL of them, but might stick to the Hero for now.

Oh, in case they’re watching.  Dear HTC, please fix the SSL certificates for Exchange email eh?

Google Team, welcome to the Open Screen Project

Today at Adobe MAX we previewed the next version of Adobe Flash Player, 10.1, that runs on mobile devices, netbooks and PCs. This is the full version of the Flash Player, with the same set of the features as the desktop based Flash Player. That same Flash Player was also shown running on a variety of netbooks as well. With the release of Flash Player 10.1, you'll be able to create contextual applications that provide a customized experience - applications that are aware of the device that they're being run on, and modify their UI accordingly. While it's not available in a public beta just yet, it will be available before the end of this year for Windows, Mac and Linux, along with Windows Mobile and Palm Web OS.

At MAX we also showed off a new feature of Adobe Flash Professional CS5 that allows designers and developers using ActionScript 3 to create applications for the Apple iPhone. Flash developers will soon be able to submit applications to the Apple App Store -- and there are already a bunch of applications available in the store now including: Red Hood, Chroma Circuit, Trading Stuff, Fickleblox, That Roach Game, and Just Letters. While, unfortunately, this isn't Flash Player for the iPhone, it's going to open up a lot of opportunities for developers to be able to build applications for the iPhone using Flash. There's more information about applications for the iPhone available on

We also announced the 2nd betas of Flash Builder 4 (formerly Flex Builder), Flash Catalyst and ColdFusion Builder beta 2. Available for download today, Flash Builder 4 adds refinements to many new features from beta 1, and will help you become more successful using the new Flex 4 framework, providing more clarity between the use of Flex 3 and Flex 4 throughout the IDE. The new data-centric development features have also evolved and expanded based on beta 1 user feedback, providing improved UI and workflow for common tasks.

(Note that the Flash Builder 4 beta 2 release expires after 60 days. See below on how to extend it.)

The easiest way to change the look and feel of those applications is to have your designer design the application using Adobe Flash Catalyst beta 2. It lets designers create rich user interfaces easily using designs from Photoshop, Illustrator and Fireworks and then lets developers open those projects up directly in Flash Builder 4 to add other code (things like database connections etc...). The new Flash Catalyst beta 2 adds support for video and enhanced interaction options.

Today and tomorrow's keynote will be streamed live at max.adobe.com. It will include demos of applications from many leading brands, showcasing how they're improving the user experience of their websites with the Adobe Flash Platform. We've also made 3 sessions per day from MAX available online. All the sessions from Adobe MAX will be available on the MAX website in the next few weeks.

** To extend Flash Builder 4 Beta 2 **

To continue using Flash Builder 4 beta 2 after 60 days you need to own a copy of Flex Builder 3 and use that serial number to get a serial number to remove the timeout in Flash Builder 4. If you don't yet own Flex Builder 3, you can buy it with maintenance, which will provide you with a free upgrade to Flash Builder 4 when its released. Yyou can purchase that by calling a Flex sales rep. Email Eardley Walker or phone 206-275-2831 for more details. Flex Builder 3 maintenance cannot be purchased through the online store.

Hi!

At MAX this year we will have a bunch of session specially devoted to the Open Screen Project. We've been working on OSP for quite some time now with new partners, the OSP Fund and of course on the product side on delivering a consistent runtime that works across multiple platforms and devices. While you will hear a lot about the product related updates in the Keynote and other sessions, we've designed the OSP sessions to provide you with a chance to see how other developers, agencies and brands are already working on delivering applications across multiple devices. We really hope you find these sessions helpful!

Now to your Menu of OSP related sessions:

Title: Open Screen Project: What It Is and Why You Should Care

Learn what the Open Screen Project is and how it furthers Adobe's
vision of a consistent runtime environment across desktops, mobile
phones, televisions and other consumer electronic devices. See demos
of content and applications spanning multiple devices and find out how
you can tap into the US$10 million Open Screen Project Fund.

Twitter Hash: #adobemax313
Date/Time: October 7 at 02:00PM
Room: 503

Title: Paramount's "Circle of 8": Business Case for a Multidevice
Strategy

Paramount Digital Entertainment is working on a new movie format that
plays out on multiple devices. The first movie to come out on with
this new movie production model is the 'Circle of 8', due for public
release late October. Keith Quinn and Sean Naughton have both worked
on the actual production of this movie and its digital delivery
through the Flash Platform. They will be talking about how they
essentially re thought the movie making process and seamlessly brought
in delivery to multiple devices. This incidentally is a project partially funded by the Open Screen Project Fund.

Twitter Hash: #adobemax78
Date/Time: October 6 at 09:00AM
Room:505

Title: Cross-device Campaigns for Deeper Brand Engagement

Richard Lent, CEO of AgencyNet and an acclaimed speaker will take us
through the multi-screen paradigm showcasing how each device delivers
against a unique user context and requires a unique value proposition.
He will explain, through real examples, how the high-level strategy
was turned into cool applications and campaigns for world-renowned
brands such as Oxygen, Pepsi, Fox, Atlantic Records and Bacardi. From
strategy, to pitch, to deployment, he will break down how AgencyNet
accomplished and often exceeded their clients' objectives.

Twitter Hash: #adobemax207
Date/Time: October 6 at 03:00PM
Room: 505

Title: Netflix on TVs Using Flash

Learn what it took to implement the Netflix browsing and movie-
streaming experience for TVs in Flash. Matt McCarty from Netflix
along with Michael Hoch from Sodascope explore user experience
constraints for the TV, engineering and user experience challenges for
network data-driven user interfaces, architecture, and special
performance issues for embedded devices.

Twitter Hash: #adobemax395
Date/Time: October 5 at 05:00PM
Room: 505

Title: Open Screen Project Fund: Fueling the Future of Flash Experiences

Come to this session to hear more about the OSP Fund and the progress
we've made with the initiative in the past nine months. There will be
four demos of apps funded and now ready to hit market. Also we are
super stoked to annouce that David Blaine will be present himself to
showcase a Flash Lite based app developed for taking his brand of
tricks to Nokia devices. David will be available after the session in
the OSP Fund Circle in the Main Pavilion to talk more about the
application and maybe show the audience a trick or two!
Date/Time: October 5 at 05:00PM
Room: 503

Thank you and hope to see you at MAX!!

Manu @Adobe

If you’ve toyed around with netbooks, you know that they are not the fastest machines you can get these days. Playing HD video is out of the question… or… WAS out of the question. Today German site Notebook Journal posted a video showing a demo of a netbook running a new NVIDIA (partner in the [...]

At Intel’s Developer Forum Engadget recorded a demo of an Intel (an Open Screen Project partner) based set-top box running a Flash based user interface and Flash based applications. The heart of this set-top box is Intel’s CE 3100 Media Processor which according to Engadget “combines an 800MHz Pentium M core with a proprietary video processing [...]

On Monday, August 17 at noon PT, I will be a guest on “Tomorrow Will Be Televised,” and encourage you to tune in. The show will be an interesting one, focused on the interactive TV movement, and Cisco’s director of product marketing for its Service Provider Video Technology Group (SPVTG), JT Taylor, will be interviewed alongside me. The progress we are making with the Open Screen Project will be a major focus of the discussion, as Cisco is a participant of the Open Screen Project.

Following our 30 minute interview, live questions will be opened up to the audience, so feel free to call in via the number provided on the show. You can listen to the interview live on Monday at noon at www.blogtalkradio.com, but you’ll need to register for the site first by clicking register. If you miss it, you can download or play the interview beginning at 2pm at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/simonapple04. Hope you can join us and submit questions.

This September I’m going to travel to Toronto to present at the FITC conference.  It’s set to be an exciting show with all of the major mobile platforms being supported including Android, Palm, Windows Mobile, Flash Lite, Blackberry, OpenGL ES and of course iPhone development.  There’s even going to be a session on SMS Applications, something that is probably a lot more interesting that you’d think!

Flash Sessions

• Martin Barclay & Robert Burdick from Nokia: Develop and Distribute for Nokia smartphones
• Scott Janousek: Practical Design and Development with Flash on Mobile Devices
• Scott Janousek: Leveraging Accelerometers on Mobile Devices
• Thomas Joos: Tips and Tricks for Flash Lite Optimization
• Weyert de Boer: Android for Flash Developers
• Mark Doherty: Flash Lite Distribution and the Open Screen Fund

So as you can see there are going to be a number of presentations on Flash topics.  In my session I’m going to probably break the rules and just sit and have a chat with everyone.  Distribution is a complex topic and one where many misunderstand where money is made.

On top of that I’ll also be showing off sneak peaks, so if you’re in the Toronto area and not coming to Adobe MAX then I suggest you start booking

Prices are very low at $209 and $89 for students.

We are excited about the progress we are making along with Nokia with the Open Screen Project Fund (OSP Fund). The Fund as you may know is a 2 year long, $10M market development channel to fuel development of a wide variety of multi screen applications using Adobe Flash.

Since the Fund launched in February, Adobe and Nokia have funded over 20 projects that make an interesting mix of multi screen apps and some really cool mobile apps.

Some of the apps we've funded are:
1. LiveTalkBack: This is a real-time audience voting system to collect feedback from mobile devices, web based widgets and the desktop - all using the Flash Platform. The application is soon going to be tested at large Media and Broadcast conferences in Europe and North America and we are excited about the progress the developer is making.
2. uvLayer: Think of this as a minority report-"ish" interface to manage all your favorite online media and share it with friends and contacts across different IM and social networks. Unknown Vector, the company behind uvLayer, had already built the AIR based desktop version of their web based service (www.uvlayer.com). The OSP Fund came in to fund the mobile version of the product to extend the experience to devices on the go.
3. GolfBox: This is a mobile app that allows golfers to book tee times, invite friends to play, read golf related news. It is being built by a team from Little Big Ideas, an interactive agency out of Denmark that has done many pioneering mobile projects in the past with Flash.
4. Mileblaster.com: A great utility application for frequent travelers that tracks frequent flyer miles and award goals, finds mile offers, and sends alerts when miles are about to expire. From the get go this application was built as a Flash widget for the web and has been funded to complete production of not just the web version but also a mobile and desktop version of the very same experience. This will allow users of the service to stay on top of their miles and awards from any Flash supporting device.

These are just some of the apps and information about them and others in now available here. We continue to seek more such interesting utility and media based experiences and are also specifically on the lookout for multi-device games built in Flash. There are already thousands of awesome Flash based online games. We are looking to developers to extend those experiences to more devices to let gamers take game play with them no matter where they go.

If you would like to apply for funding or simply learn more about the OSP Fund I would encourage you to Click here.

What is “open”? It’s a question I’ve been asking for quite a while now and I can’t seem to find a definitive answer.
Dave McAllister (Adobe’s Open Standards Evangelist) actually sums it up nicely: “Open is the currently most misused word in the IT space,” he says. “Open really comes down and says it’s accessible, extensible [...]

Before we start and just so we get this out of the way… For 2 years now, Adobe pays my paycheck. That said, I “saw the light” of Flash more than 13 years ago. Because of my long history with Flash, I feel I can say that this is an unbiased post.
Everywhere
First of all, Flash [...]

Adrian Ludwig from Adobe shared some very exciting news when he recently demoed Flash Player running inside of the new HTC Hero web browser. This makes the HTC Hero the first Android smartphone with Flash. There is a press release that provides some additional information on the announcement. You may be thinking -- will Adobe AIR run on Android in the future? We are not making any announcements, but if this is something you would like to see, please drop us a comment below or through our feedback form.