Could be too late for flash open screen project

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Could be too late for flash open screen project

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The Open Screen Project by Adobe Systems could be too late as Adobe tries to put its Flash technology on a variety of devices.

Besides Apple, Inc.’s iPhone and iPod touch, a majority of mobile devices do not have Flash installed. Adobe’s initiative does not make Flash open source, but eliminating barriers will make it more attractive to developers.

In the wake of Thursday’s announcement by Adobe Systems that it is launching the Open Screen Project to make it easier for developers to use the company’s Flash technology on a variety of devices, the lingering question is whether the move simply comes too late.

Over the last few years, the mobile market has burgeoned into a multibillion-dollar industry, but Adobe has struggled to match its desktop market share. Its Flash software is installed on an estimated 98 percent of desktop systems, but only on 30 percent or so of mobile devices.

Adobe hopes its Open Screen initiative, which will go live in mid-2009, will help it serve Flash software to as many as a billion mobile devices and produce a more consistent screen performance. Adobe is partnering on the project with a number of tech and mobile companies — including Cisco, NTT DoCoMo, Sony Ericsson and Verizon Wireless — as well as a number of content providers — BBC, MTV and NBC Universal, to name a few.

"Adobe is spearheading the Open Screen Project with support from industry leaders who share a common vision to provide rich, interactive experiences across computers, devices and consumer electronics," said Shantanu Narayen, Adobe CEO. "A consistent, more open platform for developers will drive rapid innovation, vastly improving the user experience."

The Web Without Flash

Part of the problem for Adobe is that not all industry leaders share its vision. Until recently, the slow growth of Flash on mobile devices probably did not trouble Adobe too much, since the capabilities of handsets have been notoriously slow to develop. But then Apple released first the iPhone and then the iPod touch, and together the devices introduced a new standard of mobile Web browsing. Significantly, Apple elected to release its devices without including support for Adobe Flash software, and has shown no great interest in adding the feature.

The strong performance of the iPhone and iPod touch, and the generally positive Web-browsing experience has put pressure on Adobe to find ways to keep its Flash software from being left behind as mobile devices become increasingly smart and Web-connected.

The 800-Pound Google

Further complicating matters (and putting additional pressure on Adobe) is the Google-led Android initiative. Android is an open-source mobile operating system based on Java and Linux, and developers are reportedly leery of tying video content for the OS to proprietary software like Flash.

Admittedly, Adobe’s Open Screen program falls well short of making Flash an open-source technology, but the elimination of licensing fees and access to some of the program’s specifications will make the software more attractive even to the geeks behind Android.

Clearly, in the high-tech world, open is the new black, but will Open Screen be enough to keep Adobe’s Flash out of the red? That question probably won’t be answered for at least a couple of years.

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