Since we've been talking about various Flash players on the Playstation Portable, it started me thinking of the proliferation of Flash across various devices. As a certain do-it-yourself maven might say, this is a "good thing." A great thing really. The more Flash the better as far as I'm concerned. But we can't really talk about just one Flash anymore. Even though the adoption rate for the latest Flash player for your browser has been amazingly quick, we've got all of these other players for different devices, some their own flavor of Flash (e.g., FlashLite), some just legacy players on devices (PSP case in point). Then there's Zaphod, the latest beta player (until recently also called version 8.5, now 9).

The latest Japanese PSP firmware adds Flash Player to the PlayStation Portable and Flaunt It's Alexander McCabe is testing the Player with various Flash games and posting his impressions. He says its slow, has no streaming content, and has only limited Keypad interaction. Also there seems to be an obvious limit on the amouth of memory the content can use. Jump on over to his site to see full impressions and learn more about possible content.
We have covered Flash on PSP here before and I still think this is going to be limited to the possible accessories for the system and a possible API release from Sony. We should look forward to a lack of user created content though, considering Sony's lack of hack support for the firmware already. The real concern here is weather game developers with take advantage or the player to add content that takes the user out of the box via the camera object that first appeared in Flash Player 6. In the mean time take some of your old projects modifiy them for PSP displays and maybe add some sound fun just to mess with your users.

Macromedia...er..Adobe...has launched a new sub-site of the Mobile & Devices Dev Center devoted specifically to the new iRiver U10. In case you haven't heard the U10 is a portable media player that just came on the American market. FlashLite 1.1 is baked onto its ROM. Its UI is in FlashLite and you can load FlashLite content onto it (as well as you MP3s, etc.). There's a lot of potential with this little creature.

You can get Flash games for the U10 here and here.

[via Bill Perry]

Macromedia has released the first update for the mobile templates you find in Flash 8. This is important to note, even if you aren't currently developing for mobile. The update means more devices are becoming available on the market that support Flash. More devices means more screens on which to show your content. The more screens, the more viable the market for your content is. Macromedia has been touting the mobile market for the last two years. This may be the year that it becomes a reality for American developers.

[via Bill Perry]

Pre-conference day at MAX on Sunday. I sat in on a Flash Mobile Development course today. I'll post some hints and tips soon, but there was one little tidbit that flashed up on a slide during the preso that I'll pass on here as food for thought. According to Jupiter Research, "Global market predictions estimate mobile gambling will be worth over $18 billion by 2008."

Flash Mobile World Poker Tour anyone?

Continuing on with our Mobile discussions of yesterday, I just wanted to bring to your attention Flash Technical Support guru Ken Toley's blog where Ken has posted some thoughts and questions pertaining to the realities of mobile development versus the hype. "Slowly but surely developers are reaching out to support with the same sort of challenges they had when they first started making the transition from Flash animation and 'Web Toys' to Flash Applications with advantages over existing technology in the medium."
So mobile Flash does seem to be growing up but slowly.

Ken also asks what developers need to attain their mobile goals. For me, there are obvious infrastructure hurdles to overcome, but to some extent that is a Macromedia problem...or rather an industry problem. We need new models for distribution. I think this is the biggest hurdle facing mobile developers in North America--too few companies controlling the method of distribution. So before we talk about whether or not mobile is the internet reborn, we have to look at even further back. Where is the pirate radio of mobile development? How do the independent filmmakers of the cellular arena get their movies in front of public eyes? When we start having temporary, ad hoc cellular networks (and they really aren't that far off...devices like this will make it easier), then I think we can talk about the internet reborn.

OK, so while we're on mobile Flash today, let's take a look at a recent development in the non-FlashLite mobile arena. Last week, Macromedia removed the free Flash Player 6 for Pocket PC from their download page. You can read the official explanation for the move here. Bill Perry tries to give some explanation here and here, but even more interesting than Bill's posts are the comments of users left on his blog. Folks are not taking this lightly, and I don't blame them. The move just gives fodder to the Adobe vs. Microsoft theories we've seen around lately too. You do have to wonder why Macromedia would remove a free player (the traditional basis of their strategy for distributing Flash across all platforms) and still sell the $500 Player Distribution Kit. The given reasons sound a little hollow.

I posted earlier today about the FlashLite Application Contest being held by the Macromedia Mobile User Group of Boston. Mobile guru, Bill Perry, is in charge of helping to organize such groups. Do you think that there's enough of a demand for mobile specific user groups? I know it's the hot topics these days, but I'm wondering why not just introduce mobile programming into the larger MMUGs? I'm all for building the community, and I'm all for pushing mobile Flash development. But, even a lot of the ColdFusion User Groups have changed their names to become general Macromedia User Groups, so I'm curious about the need for specificity here. Any thoughts from the community here?

Michael Hagel and the folks over at Deardorff Communications have released their MAX 05 Mobile Conference Guide for FlashLite-enabled devices. I've used PDA-based conference guides before. They're a really useful resource to have. It's a lot easier than flipping through a paper-based booklet. Now if I just had a FlashLite-enabled phone...

Or, if you're running Mac OS 10.4, you can get their MAX Dashboard Widget.

As we gear up to MAX, there's lots going on in the mobile devices arena. I'll be posting various mobile-related items throughout the day.

Let's start off with the Boston Macromedia User Group's FlashLite Application Contest! Win a copy of Studio 8! The rules are pretty straightforward. They are interested in applications, not games. Anyone can enter, and the deadline is November 25th.

So, get cracking! and get coding! Maybe come to MAX and get inspired!

[via Bill Perry]

Apparently all you need to get the scoop on a major company's product roadmap is a snapshot of a PowerPoint presentation on FlashLite. Nokia's coming lineup was revealed in a special presentation about Macromedia Studio 8 for press in Taipei. In addition the knowledge that FlashLite will be on some of these coming phones let's us know that FlashLite will be available for Series 40. According to Symplification.com, this means FlashLite is quickly becoming a serious alternative to Java (J2ME) for phone applications. This means Flash-based apps will have a larger audience and FlashLite will start having the opportunity to expand to more consumers via phone. The only question is whether this product leak will have any adverse effect on FlashLite for Nokia (I doubt it, leaks mean you're products stay on the public's mind).

via Engadget

If you're a FlashLite developer then you're probably also on the go all the time. Now you can keep up to date with all of the latest for the Macromedia Mobile User Group via their new feed reader application for Flash Lite enabled devices. The RSS section of Kero has been updated to include this new application for your downloading pleasure. Plus Alexandro, Mobile Flash extraordinaire, has made Kero available for free to the public so there is really no excuse for you not to have it already installed.

Latest Katrina update: University of New Orleans has a temporary contact line at LSU

Here I am trying to formulate a blog entry about the Sony Ericsson w800i coming with FlashLite player pre-installed (thanks for the heads up Device54) and Engadget decides to give one away. They are asking all aspiring designers to submit t-shirt designs including the current Engadget logo. The winner gets a free Sony Ericsson w800 Walkman phone. First runner up gets a Bluetooth headset and second runner up gets a gift certificate to the music download service of their choice. This would be a great time to show off you design skills and win a phone to test your development skills on. Head over to Engadget for full details.

Scott Janousek wants Macromedia to start a third Flash certification track for FlashLite. He says this could help Macromedia promote FlashLite development and get more content available to mobile companies. I don’t know if this third track is needed, but if Macromedia decides to follow other tech industry models then FlashLite certification may not be a bad idea. The only issue I see is test naming. I would prefer to tell people I’m Moble Flash certified rather than FlashLite certified just because the word Lite (spoken, not written) has a connotation of Basic or less than professional. Then the certification should cover more than FlashLite for phones. It would need to include development experience for Flash Player for Pocket PC and FlashCast (which has some sort of certification already, according to the comments on Janousek's site).

I'm at the NOMMUG meeting and we're watching a Macromedia Breeze presentation on Flash 8 (and Studio 8 of course). They are currently discussing the new FlashLite testing in Flash 8. You can export and test for each and every device that is supported. You don't need to buy that phone anymore! Finally I can start making games for those Japanese girls.