The Hindu News Update Service
News Update Service
Monday, March 17, 2008 : 1030 Hrs
Business
Microsoft licenses Adobe's mobile Flash and PDF software
SAN JOSE, California (AP): Microsoft Corp. has licensed Adobe's software for
viewing online videos and other files on cell phones, the companies said Monday.
Microsoft will distribute Flash Lite and Reader programs from Adobe Systems
Inc. to cell phone makers who use its Windows Mobile software.
Flash also allows users to interact with more Web sites. It's the software
behind most shopping sites where you can view an item in different colors or
try out house paint colors on a virtual home.
``Flash content is the most prolific content on the web today; it is the way
people express themselves on the Internet,'' Adobe spokesman Gary Kovacs said.
Julie Ask, an analyst at Juniper Research, said cell customers are more likely
to browse the Web when they have more capable phones, and that's good news
for advertisers.
``The more likely they are to use it, the more that folks are willing to invest
in the platform, and the more likely there are to be page views. It's good
for advertisers, it's good for carriers,'' Ask said.
Scott Rockfeld, group product manager at Microsoft's mobile communications
business, said the decision was about providing more choice to its customers,
even though Windows Mobile already offers 18,000 applications for everything
from picking a wine to go with dinner to watching videos.
``Obviously it's one of the things that customers are asking for. Flash is
something that is very prevalent on the Web,'' Rockfeld said.
In 2007, 11 million phones carried Windows Mobile. Microsoft expects to double
that in the next year.
Over half a billion mobile devices have shipped worldwide with Flash
preinstalled, amounting to a 150 year-over-year percent growth, Adobe said.
Microsoft wouldn't say what it is paying Adobe to license the software, but the
programs will remain free for end-users.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the subject unsubscribe.
To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please
visit the list home page at
http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in
