Adobe releases Flash 10.1 for mobiles

Flash 10.1 has been released to Adobe's mobile platform partners

Adobe has finally released its Flash Player 10.1 for mobile, the first version to provide full support for Flash content on smartphones and other mobile devices.

However, it seems that end users will typically have to wait until device makers offer an upgrade, and may even have to fork out for a new device in order to enjoy Flash 10.1 on their smartphone or tablet.

Adobe said that Flash Player 10.1 has been released today to mobile platform partners, and will be available for Google's Android, Symbian, Microsoft's Windows Phone 7, BlackBerry smartphones, Meego, LiMo and Palm's WebOS.

Users of Android phones should be among the first to get the new Flash Player. A Beta 3 update has now been posted to Android Market, and users will be able to download the full release once their handset is upgraded to the latest Android 2.2 release, codenamed Froyo.

In contrast, owners of Windows Mobile handsets face the disappointment that no current handsets are supported. Adobe officials hinted at the Mobile World Congress earlier this year that Flash Player 10.1 might end up supporting only Windows Phone 7, which is not set to appear on handsets until sometime later this year.

"We agreed with our handset partners and Microsoft that we would focus on Windows Phone 7 instead," said Anup Murarka, Adobe's director of technology strategy for the Flash Platform.