Qualcomm and Adobe have announced a partnership to integrate Adobe Flash directly into the BREW Mobile Platform, further solidifying Flash as a tenable platform for mobile development.
BREW is Qualcomm’s mobile application development platform, while “BREW Mobile Platform” is the name of the next generation of BREW.
While there is already a Flash Lite for BREW extension available, it’s by no means a perfect solution. It’s only available on a few Verizon BREW handsets, and pretty limited in its capabilities. As BREW Mobile Platform integrates Flash directly, it’ll be carrier agnostic; as long as the handset is running the new BREW, it’ll have Flash. In addition, many of BREW Mobile Platform’s APIs will be accessible via Flash/Actionscript, allowing developers to access phone functionality through their Flash applications — however, the exact APIs that will be supported have not been announced
The Flash development world is already excited about the possibilities. Stephen Jackson, President and CEO of Smashing Ideas, Inc., the largest developer of flash-based content in the US, had this to say:
“Today’s news from Qualcomm and Adobe is a giant step forward in expanding the Flash eco system on all mass market BREW handsets globally. The integration into the platform will enable greater opportunities for content developers as well as allow for expanded distribution with a global list of operators.
As the leading developer and aggregator of Flash Lite content in the US and EMEA, we see this as another benchmark that Flash is becoming a preferred platform for operators, device OEMs and developers for creating engaging mobile experiences.”
The first batch of Qualcomm chipsets with BREW Mobile Platform should come off the lines this fall.