Flash Player 10.2 readied for Android tablets

Adobe's Flash Player 10.2 for Google Android devices will be available March 18, offering preliminary support for Android 3.0 Honeycomb tablets, such as the Motorola Xoom, Adobe said on Friday.

Flash Player is Adobe's proprietary technology for playing rich media experiences within a browser. While Flash Player 10.2 will be a production release for the Android 2.2 and 2.3 releases, it will initially be a beta release for Android 3.0 tablets requiring the Android 3.0.1 point release.

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"We have been working very closely with Google to ensure tight integration between Flash Player 10.2 and new OS and browser capabilities in Android 3.0," said Antonio Flores, product manager for the Flash Platform at Adobe, in a blog post. "The March 18 beta release of Flash Player 10.2 in conjunction with Google's first system update to Android 3.0 (version 3.0.1) currently underway for the Motorola Xoom will deliver the first phase of our work together. This will be followed by subsequent updates, which will complete the optimizations and result in a production GA (general availability) release of Flash Player 10.2 for Android 3.0." The date of general availability of Flash Player 10.2 for tablets is undetermined at this point.

Flash Player 10.2 for Android offers hardware-accelerated video presentation for the H.264 video codec as well as deeper integration with the Android browser rendering engine. Both of these features work with Android 3.0.1 or higher. Website scrolling is improved as well, as is performance for the latest smartphones and tablets, Flores said. Automatic soft keyboard support improves interaction for touchscreen devices. "This feature simplifies the development of multi-screen applications that require keyboard input, making it easier for developers to optimize desktop applications for mobile devices. A new ActionScript API enables developers to automatically launch and display the soft keyboard," Flores said.

The production release of Flash Player 10.2 will be available pre-installed on many upcoming tablets and smartphones or delivered as an over-the-air update to existing devices. Version 10.2 also will be accessible at Adobe's website. Flash Player 10.2 was released for desktop systems on February 8.

This article, "Flash Player 10.2 readied for Android tablets," was originally published at InfoWorld.com. Follow the latest developments in business technology news and get a digest of the key stories each day in the InfoWorld Daily newsletter. For the latest developments in business technology news, follow InfoWorld.com on Twitter.

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