No matter the intensity of the verbal dispute between Apple and Adobe, the only way Flash is ever going to prove Steve Jobs – whose views regarding the platform are now infamous – wrong is via the software itself.

As such, today should be a big day for Adobe, with the company revealing it has finally shipped Flash Player 10.1 for mobile worldwide.
CNET reports Android is the first benefactor, with users running the latest version – Froyo – able to download the software through triggered downloads, system software updates and Android Market.

Flash for all

The release – still officially described as a beta – will also hit almost every other major smartphone OS over the coming months, with Adobe tailoring the software for BlackBerry OS, Palm webOS, Windows Phone 7, LiMo, MeeGo, and Symbian.

The firm is also in talks with Samsung to developer a bada version.

"We are working with multiple OEMs to ship it pre-installed on new devices," Adobe's director of technology strategy Anup Murarka told the site.

"We're expecting really broad platform support over the next 12 to 18 months."

All eyes on iPhone

The one platform that won't be offering its support, of course, is iPhone. The launch of Flash Player 10.1 essentially marks a new chapter in Apple and Adobe's spiky relationship

If Flash proves to be a success on Android and co, it will become especially hard for Apple to claim its block on the software is motivated purely by concern for the consumer.

The firm is currently pushing HTML5 as Flash's successor, although Apple will no doubt be aware of the brand awareness Flash has; if its mobile flavour is widely regarded as a success, iPhone's continued reluctance to offer support might make it look increasingly isolated.

CNET