Flash Will Come Baked into webOS 2.0
Flash for webOS is almost here!
Flash lovers rejoice, it’s almost here! Palm have announced that a beta version of Flash will come baked into webOS 2.0 – we’ve seen the video and it peforms brilliantly.
Flash on mobile devices has always been a point of contention between tech lovers. On the one hand it lets you view content that is otherwise unavailable, and in some cases this content can be really desirable, particularly when it comes to streaming TV shows and movies (although it’s worth noting that some of these sites may be blocked). On the other hand, many users feel that Flash just wasn’t built for mobile devices and the sluggish nature of the beast is a big turn off for some. So how have Palm chosen to get around these issues to produce a streamlined experience?
Well, they’ve used their heads. By default, no Flash content will ever load on your device without your explicit permission – for example instead of seeing a Flash video, you will simply see a black rectangle with a Flash logo on it. This ensures that your browser doesn’t get clogged up loading heavy content that you never really wanted to see. You can always choose to view the content simply by clicking the rectangle – which brings us to the second way in which Palm make this a great experience – and that’s Flash Mode.
Once you decide to view the Flash content, your browser window goes into a kind of lock-down mode. It focuses entirely on the Flash video/game/application and stops registering clicks elsewhere on the website – this is a great way for the user to choose whether they’d like to interact with the Flash content or the website itself. If that sounds a bit strange to you, fear not because you can exit Flash Mode with a click of a button and continue using your webpage with the Flash content still running, unaffected.
One other nice touch is the ability to simply rotate your device into landscape, which automatically zooms in to the Flash content and makes it fullscreen – much easier and quicker than repositioning the screen manually.
We’re really excited to see Flash finally here – it looks like it runs great on the Pre 2 and Palm have taken the time and energy to make sure that it’s a well thought-out implementation. We simply can’t wait to try it out.
Check out the video below courtesy of Precentral.net for an in depth look of how Flash performs on webOS.
UPDATE! We’ve been asked a few times if Flash will be coming to the Pixi or Pixi Plus… unfortunately it looks as though that will not be the case. If you read Palm’s wording carefully, you’ll see Flash will be available for the Pre, Pre Plus, and Pre 2. No mention of the Pixi. :(
