Apple ups the stakes to keep Adobe's Flash off iPhone

Paul Nesbitt

No sooner had Adobe launched software (Creative Suite CS 5) which enables Flash developers to convert apps they have developed in Flash so they can run on iPhones, then Apple issued new rules banning such apps from running on iPhone OS 4.0.

Apple has added the following terms and conditions that developers must agree to if they want to create apps for the iPhone OS 4.0

'Applications that link to Documented APIs through an intermediary translation or compatibility layer or tool are prohibited,' warns Apple in its SDK terms and conditions.

In other words using Adobe's new Packager for iPhone software to create an iPhone application will result in your app being blocked from Apple's App Store.

Adobe's response

Adobe's CTO Kevin Lynch responded on his blog: 'Yesterday Apple released some proposed changes to their SDK license restricting the technologies that developers can use, including Adobe software and others such as Unity and Titanium,' he wrote.

'We intend to still deliver this capability in CS5 and it is up to Apple whether they choose to allow or disallow applications as their rules shift over time,' declared Lynch.

Lee Brimelow, a 'platform evangelist at Adobe' was less constrained in his response to the Apple move.

'[Apple is] saying that they won’t allow applications onto their marketplace solely because of what language was originally used to create them.

'This is a frightening move that has no rational defense other than wanting tyrannical control over developers and more importantly, wanting to use developers as pawns in their crusade against Adobe. This does not just affect Adobe but also other technologies like Unity3D,' raged on his blog.