Flash 10.3 Beta

Then there’s Flash. Yes, the TouchPad comes with Adobe Flash built in. You can set Flash to load automatically in the browser, or load when you tap. I don’t really have much to report about Flash on the TouchPad that you haven’t read somewhere else in the context of an Android tablet: the performance isn’t very impressive. When I connected to MLB.com’s Flash-based video stream of a live baseball game, the TouchPad managed to play about four frames per second, and it was difficult to get it to respond to my touches to pause the stream. I tried to play the Flash-based Lexulous game on Facebook, but was completely unable to move my tiles onto the board. A visit to ESPN.com loaded a Flash ad that played so slowly that it basically locked up the browser. So: I can confirm that Flash runs on the TouchPad, but I can’t confirm that it runs well.

So Flash has been on mobile devices as a beta for over a year and we’ve seen 10.1, 10.2, and now 10.3. Performance still sucks and Flash as a platform is a big security risk. Hmm… is anyone still wondering why Apple doesn’t want this garbage on their products?

Flash® 10.1 available for Android 2.2

I linked to a video by PocketNow.com demoing the Flash beta that can be installed on Android. Granted this is still beta software but so far it doesn’t even look worth installing. After watching the comparison video for a couple minutes I think Steve Jobs and Apple are still correct - Flash just isn’t suited for mobile devices - except (maybe) web based Flash games- which anything worth playing has a native version anyhow.

Flash is:

• a memory hog (the device had to be rebooted)
• slow and clunky (watch the scrolling or ad animations). The world’s fastest browser becomes one of the world’s slowest.
• unusable/unwieldy. I loved to see how he started an embedded Youtube video but couldn’t get it to stop and had to navigate away because the button was just too small to hit.
• full of bugs. One page rendered was just all over the place due to the Flash plugin.
• full of ads. seriously, I have flash blocked on my desktop for a reason. I don’t need my mobile device crawling just so I get a slow animation of some corporate logo.

Oh, but you can watch web video embedded in the browser. If you are willing to trade fast and quick with slow and unwieldy just to watch a stupid cat playing a piano or have dozens of ads cluttering up the page then go for it.

Just for the record, it has been three years since the original iPhone launched and even if Apple really wanted Flash® on the device (which they don’t) we still don’t have a usable mobile version three years after the fact. Adobe® really missed the boat. Now that the mobile web is where most growth and profitability lie I don’t see Flash as relevant in a few years time. Goodbye proprietary browser plugins. And good riddance.

Ryan Stewart’s Flash demo sites

Ryan Stewart, an Adobe® Flash® evangelist, posted a video demoing Flash player running on the Google Nexus One with Flash 10.1. The good news is that Flash didn’t crash while filming like we’ve seen over the last week or so… it also seemed to perform well (speedy and responsive) although I still have concerns over battery usage.

The bad news is in order to interact with Flash content on a mobile device you have to select the flash box first. They you also have some awkward controls not appropriately sized for a small screen - or touch.

I thought it would be interesting to list the sites that he demos and track how long it takes for these sites to offer equivalent experiences using just open web standards. So here we go:

1. The Eco Zoo - A complete Flash site. Took me over 3 minutes just to load on my MacBook. However, the site is probably getting hammered this morning. Chances are this site can not be completely replicated using just HTML.
2. Google Finance - There are quite a few javascript alternatives that could replace the graphs and Flash content on this site. It is really up to Google to make this change if they feel the need.
3. CBS: How I Met Your Mother - I expect like most video sites that CBS will move to HTML5 video in the near future. Very near future. Flash can be completely replaced with open web standards today.
4. NHL Video Highlights - Same as with CBS, I see sport sites moving to web standards fast. Video is fairly easy to change within the existing design. Navigation will probably wait for a site redesign. I give the NHL about a year to offer an equivalent experience without using any Flash®.
5. MarthaStewart.com - Ryan highlights the Flash navigation elements here. Personally this is the worst kind of Flash because you have to “select” the content before you can interact with it. What becomes really annoying is you lose the ability to interact with the rest of the webpage while the Flash element is selected. HTML, CSS, and Javascript could replace this in a flash (pun intended) and provide a better experience for mobile users. The videos can also be converted easily as well.
6. Alchemist - Flash game. Sure the web version is free (ad supported), but guess what? You can download the native iPhone version for $.99. If you like the game support the developer with real cash. Here is the iPhone Alchemist developer site. Also the ad along the bottom when the game launches is to buy it on the iPhone App Store.
7. BBC - I wasn’t able to quickly track down the slideshow Ryan mentions on the site but as Scribd.com has shown Flash® is not needed anymore for slideshows and can be replicated completely using open web standards.

So out of the 7 demoed sites really only the first site is completely Flash® dependent with no open alternatives to provide the same user experience. I think this is really representative of the overall global network of sites and how Flash, although nearly ubiquitous, doesn’t hold the power it used to a few years ago.

If I’m a Flash developer or a site designer or executive managing site properties this is a trend you can’t ignore. Flash isn’t gaining relevance, it is losing it - and fast. It doesn’t really matter how well Flash actually performs on mobile devices because the Flash will just slowly be tossed to the side as more sites adopt HTML5 and other open web standards. From a usability perspective this is a big win. Of course for Adobe’s Flash division and all the Flash (and AIR / Flex) developers this is a huge loss. You may not lose your job tomorrow but your niche is shrinking and the value created using Flash is diminishing. Be aware and be prepared.