Adobe backs off iPhone Flash statement

The banner ad issue can still be addressed, without having to actually add a website to a "block flash" list. What if we wanted to watch video on a page, but not the ads?
What if Flash was similar to Quicktime, in that a little button appears instead of the video? But instead of opening the Flash in another screen, it shows it on the page.That way, we can choose to watch videos, but leave the banner ads alone.

Also, Adobe + Apple could let us create a custom "gaming keyboard" on-the-fly. For those who have used the NES emulator (or similar) on your iPhone/iTouch, something to that effect. Just a few buttons off to the side, or at the bottom, but only the ones we'll need, sized appropriately.
However, creating this "custom keyboard" constantly could prove to be a pain. So perhaps just letting us save a custom keyboard or two, probably showing the arrow keys and the space bar. Or giving the programmer the option to make one of these keyboards for the user, to fit their Flash's needs. Being a Flash programmer myself, I would be more than happy to put in those extra few lines of code to help my fellow iPhoners.

Just my thoughts. It's too bad these ideas will probably never reach anyone with the power to put them in motion. But isn't that like most of the good ideas presented on the net?

I wish there was a better alternative to Flash, but there isn't. Flash is the de facto standard for embedded video and interactive content like games. To get a true *complete* web experience, a browser needs Flash.

That said, the obstacles mentioned in these comments are huge: slow performance, scaling down to fit the iPhone display, and replacing keyboard controls. And since the most common use of Flash lately seems to be banner ads, iPhone users might not be missing *that much*. It may just not be worth it.

My wishful idea for an iPhone/iPod Touch Flash Player is this:
Safari just displays the first frame of each Flash object on the web page so users know what everything is, but all the animations and and banner ads don't get too annoying or cost too much performance. When a user clicks a Flash object, it opens in a new application. The keyboard would display only the keys that have functions in that particular SWF, and, with less keys to display, they could be big enough not to "fat-finger." Text boxes, of course, would use the full keyboard.

Too far-fetched?

Ah come on guys. Stop complaining! I LOVE my IPHONE!

1. I can view pictures and resize them when I'm bored.
2. I can make my Icons wiggle and move them around
so as to confuse myself
3. I can now "add" my mom with my sister to the "TO" to receive a "I love you" message, watching out of course, that I don't "fat" finger "kpcr tiy".
5. I can pay $0.99 for a song
6. The right to laugh at my friends using bluetooth to pass songs back and forth.
7. Being able to pay $0.99 for my ringtone.
8. Laughing at myself trying to type a message after a few drinks.
9. Puting an tripod under my hand, and holding my breath in order to take a non-blurred picture
10. Laughing at those who video cool things from their phone.

And now you want to complain because you can't find sites to visit that don't use Flash? Common! There is that 2% of the internet out there left for us!

Flash is like every tool on this planet. If you give a hammer, chisel and piece of marble to a monkey he will make a mess. If you give the same tools to an artist he will make a masterpiece.

The best solution would be for the Flash options to work like pop-up blocker options. Have the iPhone remember which sites you want to turn flash off on and which site you want to enable Flash. I would keep it off for most sites and switch it on only when absolutely necessary.

What should apple help get flash on the iPhone??!
It's not like their customers want it or anything!

F**K Apple!

I am embarrassed that the iPhone does not support flash, when Jobs said that the internet on the iPhone would be a true desktop internet experience. On my desktop, I don't get blank screens where flash video belongs. If I choose to turn it off, thet is fine. I have been embarrassed on more than one occasion when I am showing the iPhone to a friend and he goes onto a site to check something, and a blank page appears or it says that flash needs to be downloaded, but that such a download cannot be performed on this phone. It is awkward for me to say how awesome this phone is, and I am not even able to get onto a stupid internet page. And it's not as if it cannot be done, because I have been able to do it if I hack the phone to download and convert that flash page or video - it is solely because Apple chooses NOT to do it; and that is pure bull! If Apple makes a better product, then get website admins to change the way in which they build their sites. But don't decide NOT to offer something on the phone that is currently a standard. That is baloney!

I thought it was pretty funny post. Flash is such crap IMHO. Its a closed spec and a huge resource hog that isn't used right by 90%+ of its developers. Its inaccessible for the most part. A few tools exist to create content that is more accessible but nobody ever uses them.

I'd like to see SVG support for the iPhone before flash support.

I like choice. If you're a Flash anti fan, it is very easy to disable Flash and stare at the gray boxes. I want to see the iPhone do more including rendering Flash and Java content. Everyone should realize that a Flash enabled iPhone would hurt Apple's music and movie sales. Apple's iPhone does not provide a complete Internet experience and their PR department should stop advertising that they are giving us the entire web.

What a horrid and childish posting. Honestly.

Flash is already slower on a mac than on a PC. So on a less powerfull, mobile device like the iPhone, it's likely to be just unusable! It's up to adobe to optimize the flash player for the mac in general first, before Apple thinks about getting the plugin for the iPhone.

However, with Adobe releasing the AIR SDK, the need for a flash player on mobile devices gets bigger and bigger. It's a double-edged sword....