Adobe confirmed that Flash 10 for Android will soon be available for a select number of handsets. The short list of smartphones expected to see this Flash update include the HTC Incredible, the HTC Desire, the Samsung Galaxy S, the Motorola Milestone, the Droid X, and more. Presumably, Flash 10 support will be bundled into the highly anticipated Android 2.2 update which is slated to land in the upcoming weeks. The precise timing for each individual handset is unknown as it is, in most cases, dependent upon the manufacturer and the wireless carrier.
Adobe and its Flash group has a long history with the Android platform. Adobe originally demoed Flash on the T-Mobile G1 way back in November of 2008 and promised a mobile world filled with in-browser “games, animations, rich Internet apps, music, video, audio, and much more”. Over the past 21 months, though, Adobe has struggled in its quest to bring Flash to any mobile platform, including Android. While Adobe has showcased Flash in a series of live demos with the Nexus One and has released video previews of Flash running on a wide variety of mobile devices, Flash still remains elusive on the Android platform.
A beta version for Android 2.2 debuted in May and Adobe has only recently started releasing the full official version of Flash for Android. Currently, the only handset shipping with this official Flash support is the recently announced DROID 2. Despite its slow official rollout, Flash has made its way unofficially to many Android handsets thanks to work of a large number of dedicated hackers and enthusiasts.
To help pass the time and ramp up the excitement for this long-awaited Flash-enabled Froyo update, Adobe has released yet another video of Flash in action, this time on the DROID 2. Hopefully, the next time Flash is mentioned in a post, we will be asking you for your first impressions and not your reactions to a pre-recorded video.
[Via Adobe]