Archive for March, 2009
Opera providing a complete web browsing experience
Posted by Mark Doherty in , Devices, Flash Lite, Industry News on March 25, 2009
I thought it would be interesting to look at Flash Lite in some different use cases. The two that I have chosen are great examples of our core strategy to enable a consistent, open and upgradable platform for developers and users.
Opera‘s fantastic work with Flash Lite for their browser platform. Using Flash Lite as a browser plugin they’ve enabled millions of users to surf the web as it was intended. Of course the Archos implementation allows for Flash applications/widgets too, enabling developers to target the install base.
iRiver, a division of ReignCom have been creating great personal media player devices for many years now. From the venerable CLIX, to the SPINN which came with an incredible 3.3″ OLED screen and packed video, music and even a nice picture gallery. I wonder if their platform could scale to include Chumby support, making those widgets compatible?
Flash Lite Developer Challenge – US$ 100,000 to be won
Posted by Mark Doherty in , Flash Lite, Industry News, Mobile Content on March 24, 2009
We’re getting close to closing the Flash Lite Developer Challenge, so get submitting with your applications. Remember that anyone can get involved including students, individuals and of course companies. Adobe, Thumbplay and GetJar are sponsoring with prize money and free marketing 
As we close the competition it will be possible to vote for your favorite entry, so remember to check back often.
Here’s the science bit:
Grand Prize US$ 30,0000
| Best Game | US$ 15,000 |
| Best Sprorts Application | US$ 15,000 |
| Best Infotainment Application | US$ 15,000 |
| Best Lifestyle Application | US$ 15,000 |
| Best Social Networking Application | US$ 15,000 |
| Most innovative Application | US$ 10,000 |
Nokia Developer Summit 2009 – Monaco
Posted by Mark Doherty in , Conference, Devices, Flash Lite, Industry News on March 24, 2009
Join the first annual Nokia Developer Summit, 28-29 April in Monaco, and make new connections, learn new skills and develop new ideas to create tomorrow’s technologies. Whether you are new to Nokia, a mobile expert or simply want to learn about the latest go-to-market opportunities through the Ovi Store, this two-day event offers something for everyone.
Adobe’s Andrew Shorten will attend and present, unfortunately I can’t make it this time.
Register today at www.developersummit2009.com!
Untravel Media – MAX Guide
Posted by Mark Doherty in , Conference, Devices, Flash Lite, Industry News, Mobile Content on March 24, 2009
I thought it would be interesting to highlight our MAX application from 2008 by Max working with Untravel Media. The article discusses the design and development process, highlighting pain points and the benefits of the FL3.1 Distributable Player.
As Max points out, issues with memory allocation and fixes for inconsistent video rotation issues. But this is a good time to say that we added deblocking (smoothing) and support for seeking forwards and back again. I’m really excited to see developers making use of the improved HTML text support too, which includes embedded <img> tag support. Did I mention that quite a bit of the BitmapData class is now supported?
Read it here.
iPhone: Why it’s great to be late, and the best at one thing..
Posted by Mark Doherty in Devices, Flash Lite, Industry News, Mobile Content on March 20, 2009
In this great article by Andrew Orlowski we take a step back and look at why being late to the party is good. You get the opportunity to look through the letter box, see people being sick on the lawn and take the upper hand on those that are otherwise distracted.
My own point of view is that Apple saw that their top-of-the-line iPod owners are those actually buying music from iTunes. I’d expect that they spend alot of money in comparison to the majority, and I bet that Apple was surprised doing their market research that they could sell them.. they were very expensive music players.
Still there are questions, and important ones too:
- How many iPhone users are actually buying apps?
- How many iPhone users are developers, and downloading to check out other developers apps?
Device manufacturers don’t need to be huge to win, all you have to do is be the best at one thing. Though having little history in the space means that you can make different demands, all you have to do is keep it simple. I can see Steve Jobs rejecting prototype after prototype, “I want it thinner, don’t come back until its a slate.. and make the battery last longer.” All of these features make the iPhone an incredible product.
But this is a Flash blog, make no mistake we know that Flash is simple and it’s great at one thing, creating an “experience”. The lack of Flash does not make the iPhone ugly, it’s just a compromise for web browsing. Compromises are fine if you’re keeping it simple, but did iPhone users want simple? What if they are developers and techies?
To meet the users expectations moving forward I think we’ll see a nano device, same resolution but with a smaller screen. It’s also quite inevitable that the iPhone becomes a part of, or is a set-top-box enabling the AppStore to cross the bridge into Nintendo territory.
With iPhone 3.0 I’m hugely excited to see what developers build with the accessories APIs, and I’m not talking about speakers and blood pressure monitors.