Adobe has voiced its disappointment at Apple’s decision not to include its Flash technology on the Apple iPad announced earlier this week.
Following in the Flash-lacking footsteps of the iPhone and the iPod Touch, while it may not have such an impact on the smaller screens of Apple’s more trouser-friendly tech, its absence from the iPad which aims to deliver the full web experience, is a little more surprising.
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Adrian Ludwig, group manager of Adobe quoted via a blog post on Apple’s tablet approach saying, “There’s something important missing from Apple’s approach to connecting consumers to content.”
But Ludwig believes there is a little more to the Flash-less iPad and that Apple is concerned with protecting content revenue for games and video available through iTunes.
“Apple has eliminated any way to get content on the device that they don’t own,” says Ludwig. “Apple is keeping the device closed to protect their revenue streams.”
Without Flash, iPad users would be restricted from using sites such as iPlayer, YouTube and the US-based Hulu which is scheduled to arrive in the UK this year. The argument it appears from Apple’s perspective is, if you can watch it for free on Hulu, why would you buy it from iTunes?
Adobe is not the only ones being shut out from the iPad, “Flash is what people are focused on but it’s not just Flash that’s not working. They’ve blocked a whole lot more than that… It’s a universal restriction,” Ludwig added.
Ludwig has indicated that Adobe is working with Apple to bring flash to the iPhone, but did not confirm a release date. Whether that means the iPad will follow suit, we are not so sure, but we’d very much like to think so.
Link: IT Pro Portal & Cult of Mac
