Being the Interactive Content Developer, we can’t help but to drop our jaw when we saw the newly announced iPad. Superbly awesome but it can’t run Flash. And that blue legos apparently stir up conversation in the internets about Flash. Simply said, Adobe VS Apple.
From my perspective, I personally think Apple wouldn’t want to put Flash Player because they’re totalitarian.
totalitarian |tōˌtaliˈte(ə)rēən|adjectiveof or relating to a system of government that is centralized and dictatorial and requires complete subservience to the state : atotalitarian regime.nouna person advocating such a system of government.
By that, I mean all iPods need to use iTunes to connect. And if you’re going to play games, you need to download from Appstore. And when you download from AppStore, either you can play free games that usually limited ( some free games are awesome anyway ) or unlock the fun for just 0.99 USD.
Just a mere dollar.
Now if Safari in iPhone /iPad/iPod Touch would be able to run Flash, I can think that users would simply type ‘Miniclip’ or googled Free Flash game site, and have it run on their browser. Heck if I get myself an iPhone later, the first thing I wanted to play is Nanaca-Crash. And by doing that, Apple could lost millions of potential-game-purchaser and would harm their selling.
Still I think Flash Player would not make it into the iPhone.
Recently Apple bought Quattro, a mobile advertising company. Apple were set to reinvents mobile advertising. As it may controls their device to feed ‘only Quattro-coded-ads’ this is another totalitarian act, to kill Google Ads. If it were happen Safari in iPhone could run Flash, it already run the ads, like Advertlets or Nuffnang anyway. (famous Malaysia advertising network)
This April, I wonder if Flash CS5 that will be put on shelves, that enabling developers to publish their Flash as native iPhone Apps will help in the fight to put Flash Player in Safari. Maybe yes or maybe not. But with this way, customer also could see of what Flash could deliver to iPhone and at this point, it’s important for Flash Developer not to screw things up. After all, there’s staggering 6 million’s iPhone users that attempted to download Flash. iPhones become so hot that average Joe wanted Flash in it.
Again, Safari in those devices would not get a Flash Player. It will be a double-edge sword perhaps for Apple anyways. People might buy more iPhones but wouldn’t want to download apps anymore. Maybe.
To summarize and to add, having Flash in Safari would
- Possibility of lower sales of games and apps.
- More ads being displayed with Flash, and owning Quattro by Apple would be meaningless and against their Totalitarian concept
- Drain iPhone batteries ( as always they said anyway :p )
Looking at the Apple history, they created USB, they throw the Floppy. And it’s not impossible for them to kill Flash too. If all things fails, I’d say Flash will be dead in 10 years, for Malaysia, it mean 15 years (joke intended 
) Currently some of the weapons that Adobe has is Open Screen Project by collaborating with several device makers including Nokia & Google/Android. Don’t forget the emerging other devices too, like Google Nexus One. For me, the Google Maps Navigation making me salivating to buy Nexus One.
10 or 15 years are still long to go, but have to be prepared. This is surely, a challenge for us too 
UPDATE: Adobe AIR for mobile announced 15 February. Official press release here.
