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Article on Flash and the iPhone..


Today I stubled across the following article from Chris Hill at übergeek.tv.  The reason that it was more interesting than the majority of iPhone posts was the depth and context; something unfamiliar with Flash+iPhone articles!

Let’s dissect it:

“While this is a great idea, I definitely would agree with Steve that it won’t run very well on the ARM processor.”

Markd:  Flash runs extremely well on an ARM based processor, to be clear though ARM don’t build processors.  Flash Lite has shipped on 800million devices, the majority of which have ARM based OMAP processors.  Performance is typically dependant on the host Operating System, memory, bus speed and screen size.

“Compared to writing Flash for a PC, Adobe only needs to concern themselves with one system. This means they can perform optimizations that would probably cause them compatibility issues otherwise”

Markd: If it were as easy as “1 phone” then we’d be laughing.  Flash and Flash Lite is delivered to OEMs in the form of source-code reference implementations, Linux, S60, BREW, Windows Mobile and Win32.  Building any code base for 1 device would be a worthless endeavor for a portable code base like Flash.

“When Macromedia/Adobe chose On2′s video tech, one of their considerations was portability.This means that we can assume quality video playback support, which should give most people warm fuzzies.”

Markd: Indeed it does and you can check that out across Nokia’s S60 and Maemo platforms, Archos 5-7, the Wii and lots more in the future.

“Looking at the specs of the iphone shows that its no slowpoke. Let’s assume 400mhz. What can we do with 400Mhz on a very specific platform? A lot! “

Markd:  Again 400mhz only forms part of a device picture, you also have to consider the host OS, memory, bus speed and screen size.  I’m sure however that with less CPU power you can still do alot.  Why not check out your own device specs and consider all the parts that are running in there.

“But daintily sipping CPUs is not what the Flash Player is known for. In fact it can easily bring a computer to its knees if used wrongly. What are the major hurdles to overcome? “

Markd: Glad you pointed out that “if used wrongly”, to provide unlimited bounds for creative people sometimes you have to accept that some will get it wrong.

“With flash, there are limitless possibilities, but these also need to be displayed 30 times a second.”

Markd:  Flash based ads running at 30fps+ are stunning examples of what not to do.  You should always set the frame rate for your content to a rate that fits the content and hardware profile.

“If there is one place that Adobe developers will lose sleep and hair, it will be attempting to get Flash to work with practically no RAM.”

Markd:  Agreed, this is always a problem but Flash itself doesn’t need much RAM to run.  I think the point is “attempting to get Flash content to run with practically no RAM”.  It’s a real issue, it may never be 100%, but we’ll chase it and developers need to do their part too.

“So which version?”

Markd:  Adobe created the Open Screen Project with all the relevant partners in the mobile and devices space.  Each of the partners has a role to play in solving the goal which is to deliver a consistent platform across screens.  A single version and a single platform will happen, but you will not be Bitmap caching on a phone anytime soon.

“And Flash Lite hasn’t really taken off as it should. Flash Lite is also specific to mobile, with the expectation that mobile would be ‘its own thing’. But what’s happened is that the ‘normal’ web is being put on phones, and so Flash Lite isn’t an ideal candidate.”

Markd: Flash Lite has “taken off” on 800m devices including set-top boxes, games consoles, TVs and mobile phones.  It was created because desktop Flash wasn’t portable enough (code size, performance) to deliver on low power devices.

The latest version Flash Lite 3.1 is capable of playing back Flash 9 content using Actionscript 2.0, that’s about 85% of the top 500 sites right now.  So if you have a phone that has enough RAM and network performance to keep going then Flash Lite will keep up.

“normal web being put on phones”

The iPhone and Facebook is a perfect example of an Internet application taking advantage of the iPhones mobility.  The ‘normal’ web isn’t a great experience on 99% devices, Facebook realised that and have a different experience for iPhone or mobile users.

People only want the ‘normal’ web on their phones as a last resort, why should they have to Pan and Zoom around just because its a small screen?  The Apple Appstore proves that they want/need applications for their key tasks whilst mobile, or sitting in front of the TV.

It all depends on context:

“What application, when in front of my computer, do I pick up my phone to do simply because it’s a better experience?”

This entry was posted on October 16, 2008, 5:09 pm and is filed under . You can follow any responses to this entry through RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

  • http://www.thomasjoos.be Thomas

    Hi Mark,

    nice overview and comments you made. Liked reading it. What I hope is that more phones will support api’s to extend flash lite, like the new nokia express music is about to do and the SE Capuchin Project. I hope the open screen project will take things to another level!

    Greets Thomas

  • http://www.flashmobileblog.com MarkD

    Hey Thomas,

    We look at adding APIs to Flash, we have some already with Adobe Mobile Client in fact.

    The goal is to ensure a consistent experience across devices and that my friend is the hard part. Again, if it were 1 device we’d be laughing!

    Mark

  • http://www.iexamskill.com/blog/?p=59 ExamSkills – Article on Flash and the iPhone..

    [...] [http://flashmobileblog.com/2008/10/16/article-on-flash-and-the-iphone/] [...]

  • http://www.3fs.si andraz

    We have started developing on top of capuchin and it does look promising, although there is a potential problem with Sony ericsson not being big enought to really make a difference with it. But it shows exactly what needs to be done in the flash lite department.

    What our company would really like to see is AS3 in flash lite.

  • http://www.flashmobileblog.com MarkD

    Hi Andraz,

    Sony Ericsson’s Capuchin is a great example of an OEM enabling Flash developers to take advantage of their Operating System.

    They sell many many millions of devices and remember that it is still the Flash player, its consistent with other platforms.

    Limited markets can be a good thing! There are far fewer iPhones in the market than S60 devices, but still developers have been able to make excellent returns.

    Adobe are fully committed to bringing AS3 and AIR to mobile devices as top priority. The task is made difficult because this involves porting the Open Source virtual machine at the core of Flash.

  • http://www.3fs.si andraz

    Thats great to hear. Yeah, I believe it wont be easy to move to as3, but I guess it needs to be done.

  • http://www.mobileflash.co.uk Alistair Gillan

    I’m a huge evangelist of flashlite, however the player may have been successfully loaded onto 800m devices (including set-tops etc)but how many apps have really been created and successfully sold?, though to be fair I’m only commenting on Europe, Japan and now America may be different. I seriously hope it wont be long before the iPhone does have a flash player of sorts, look how successful the App store has been.
    I don’t accept that Apple doesn’t need the flashplayer, but they were probably right to wait until there has been a player that has been specifically written to make the most of the iPhones features. From the sounds of it we might not be too far off!

  • http://cisnky.com/?p=508 Why I’m not working for 2008-10-19 / 2008-10-20 | CISNKY

    [...] Article on Flash and the iPhone..Mark Doherty dispels some of the Flash on the iPhone myths in reply to an article from Chris Hill. [...]

  • joey

    enjoyed this article so much. Its good to set the record straight. Apple and them fanboys can be realy blind.
    I wish u gave off an example of nokia devices succesefully run flash lite 3 using ARM. Just look at the n95-1 with limited recourse still executes flash to its full potential.
    No there is not much choice for flash apps now, but it has bloomed and we will see an explosion of flash apps, not to mention thier beautifull UI. Flash lite 3 is not just ur youtube player….but your web browser, flash app, video codec, screen saver, wallpaper(i think)

  • http://www.menokia.com nokia

    That is great!

  • Sundev

    I’m a flash programmer by trade, but have been playing with the iPhone sdk and have successfully submitted an app. The problem I see with flash, and it’s been echoed from many at apple is that it’s too high level and can crush a device if executed poorly. I understand that it’s all in the hands of the programmer, but flash is still a bloated mess. I realize it has to be to be a very ubiquitous framework, but look at what programmers are doing in terms of 3D within iPhone apps. These games are amazing. I look at that and think to myself, no one’s come close to that with flash even on a full fledged computer. With the trend moving toward netbooks, I think flash needs to figure out how to reduce it’s bloat, and fast. Why hasn’t AS3 been ported to the lite framework? It’s strictly typed and namespaced. It looks like a lower level language, why isn’t it acting like one? I realize I’m ignorant when it comes to much of these things, but this is my perspective as an average flash programmer with an iPhone in his pocket.

  • http://www.iphonetrendy.com iphone wallapers

    It was interesting to browse trough :-) keep up the good work and thanks for sharing.