Adobe has shown that its Flash Professional product would be able to develop applications for iPhone. Apple this week revised its developer terms (section 3.3.1) to restrict applications that were created using Flash and other third party development tools. I think it's time first of all for Steve Jobs to get off his Objective C high horse. NextStep was cool and all, but this is the 21st century, and it's time to look forward, not backward.
Adobe, for its credit, has noted through its employees' blogs and other statements that its products in no way depend on the iPhone platform for survival If Apple will insist on its developer tools, then Adobe customers will continue to thrive with thousands and thousands of other workflow efficiencies promised in the soon to be revealed release of its Creative Suite.
I see this as a tremendous opportunity for companies like Nokia, Google, HTC, and others who have embraced partnership with Adobe (see the list of devices in Adobe's DeviceCentral for an idea of Adobe's broad reach into mobile development) to overshoot and ultimately marginalize the iPhone and iPad. Google, for one, has a great platform with its versatile Android operating system.
Android allows developers to develop and deploy content without having to pay a developer fee through its open SDK. Back to Adobe, developers can develop in Flash or Flex, for instance, and will soon be able to deploy to AIR or SWF, both of which will play on an Android phone.
If I were Adobe, I'd put my considerable skills to building more RIA tools that can enhance the developer experience for the rest of the mobile ecosystem, not just the closed and apparently backward looking Apple biosphere.
I am an Adobe Community Professional, and have a little insight into what's coming through Adobe Labs, Adobe MAX, and careful reading of key indicators. I'll be watching the Creative Suite announcement tomorrow with great interest to see what shakes out there, and also whether Apple can get its head out of the sand.
Leave a comment