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BSQUARE, the company that one year ago bbought NEC’s Adobe® Flash® Technology Consulting and Distribution business, has just announced that it will be porting Flash to Android! This is HUGE news that would give Google’s Android platform a huge advantage for the time being. While the press release states the port will be “for a global Tier 1 carrier” we’ll probably see Flash integration across all Android devices sooner rather than later.
We would assume the carrier in question is T-Mobile, but it remains to be seen whether or not current G1 owners would get a firmware update to enable flash. And to be honest, that is assuming that T-Mobile and the inevitable G2 is the global Tier 1 carrier in question. Assumptions, assumptions.
Here is Andy Rubin demonstrating Flash on Android at an Adobe event in November 2008:
So we know its possible. We know its coming. We just didn’t know it would be now and from BSQUARE.
Here is the full press release:
BSQUARE to Port Adobe Flash onto New Google Android Mobile Device for Tier 1 Carrier
Leverages BSQUARE’s Android competency to enable rich content and applications demanded by smartphone consumers
Bellevue, WA – March 25, 2009 – BSQUARE Corporation (Nasdaq: BSQR), the leading software solutions provider to the global embedded device community, today announced it will port Adobe’s Flash technology onto Google’s Android platform for a global Tier 1 carrier.
Adobe is a leader in rich internet and user interface technology for mobile devices. Flash technology ships on over 800 million devices worldwide while over one million designers and developers use Adobe Flash to build video and rich media applications.
Industry analyst firm Strategy Analytics predicts that Android, the newest mobile operating system, will take a 12 percent market share of global smartphone shipments by 2012. Android also is expected to gain traction on other types of smart devices used in a range of industries
“Integrating Adobe Flash technology with the functionality of Google’s Android platform will afford consumers the rich content and unprecedented applications they demand and is key to achieving success for our OEM and ODM customers,” said BSQUARE’s CEO Brian Crowley. “We believe that our value-added products and services can improve the Android experience for users and help our customers get their devices to market faster.”
In the last 12 months since its acquisition of NEC America’s Adobe® Flash® Technology Consulting and Distribution business, BSQUARE has worked on over 40 different customer devices including handsets, set top boxes, digital signage, consumer devices and netbooks. BSQUARE has built an Android competency in its professional engineering services group through several customer engagements.
About BSQUARE
BSQUARE is an industry leader with a proven track record in providing engineering services and production-ready software products for the smart device market. Since 1994, BSQUARE has provided device manufacturers with software solutions for personal navigation devices, point-of-sale terminals, handheld data terminals, smart phones and many other device categories allowing them to get to market more quickly and cost effectively. BSQUARE acquired the TestQuest testing automation tools in November 2008. The combination of TestQuest’s testing automation products and BSQUARE’s industry leading software and hardware products and services offer the best of class device development solutions to the embedded and mobile device development community. Now device developers building consumer mobile or vertically targeted embedded devices can rely on the highest quality development expertise from BSQUARE, plus the most feature rich testing automation tools from TestQuest, to accelerate their devices to market while minimizing development costs and errors. For more information, visit www.bsquare.com.
[Via Droideo]
This better not be an April fools joke, as i may have wet my pants.
The “Tegra graphics chip” Nvidia is building for newer Android devices will create a POWERFULL flash experience.
http://www.nvidia.com/object/product_tegra_apx_us.html
“…processors are the key to building next-generation Microsoft Windows Mobile, Windows CE, and Android-based devices, including smartphones …” -Nvida
What will be really interesting is if the implementation will be open source!
I cant say as I’ve heard any rumblings about this (I work for TMO), but seeing as T-Mobile is based in Bellevue, which is the same place as BSQUARED, and thats where T-Mo’s entire tech department is, I’d say it stands a good chance.
Flash player on the G1 is not a joke. I called T-Mobile [specifically the G1 department)and i asked about any upcoming up dates and he said yes the cupcake and an update that will give us Flash. he said we will get it anytime before the end of this year (he didn’t know an exact date) xD.
This is old news.. And some idiot dub over the very informative presentation with queen.. WTF.. Do yourself a favor and find & post the original. very very old news indeed
I just want to listen to music on myspace.
I need flash lite 3 for G2 ,thanks!!!