Abobe to Offer Core Flash for ARM Processors in Mobile Phones

Adobe Systems and chip maker ARM Holdings will partner to implement Flash in mobile phones. Adobe wants to enable Flash on ARM processors. The core processors are used by mobile companies such as RIM BlackBerry, Nokia, Samsung and Apple iPhone

Adobe Systems Inc and ARM Holdings PLC announced on Monday that the two companies are working together to enable Flash 10 support on ARM processors in mobile phones. The new partnership allows the ARM core to provide Flash 10 support for Adobe AIR applications.

ARM produces mobile phone chips for some of the largest companies in the world. RIM BlackBerry, Apple iPhone, Nokia and Samsung are among some of the mobile companies that use ARM processors.

"Video created for the Adobe Flash Player is the leading video format on the web today, and this collaboration with ARM is another important step towards bringing the complete web experience to mobile devices worldwide," said Gary Kovacs, general manager and vice president, in a statement.

The partnership also expands the Adobe platform to reach other devices than cell phones such as set-top boxes, TVs, automotive multimedia systems, media players and mobile computing devices.

Adobe and ARM are targeting ARMv6 and ARMv7 processors. The processors are used in the ARM11 and Cortex-A series of chips and are expected to be available in 2009. The Flash Player for ARMv6 and ARMv7 will be made available royalty-free to participants in the Open Screen Project.

The Open Screen Project is an Adobe-sponsored initiative to extend the reach of the Flash Player and AIR through a consistent runtime environment.

"The initiative is set to address the challenges of Web browsing on a broad range of screens, and remove the barriers to publish content and applications seamlessly across screens," Adobe said in a statement.

The Adobe Open Screen Project is endorsed by several chip makers including Texas Instruments, Nvidia and Freescale.