Flash optimised for ARM cores

Adobe's Flash Player 10 and AIR technologies are being optimized run on systems using cores designed by chipmaker ARM, under a collaboration announced today by the two companies.

The techology, due for delivery next year, will bring a range of text handling facilities and other rich-media technologies to a platform that is installed in more devices than Intel's x86.

They include mobile phones, set-top boxes, mobile Internet devices (MIDs), TVs, in-car systems, personal media players and ultra-mobile computers.

It will be available for devices using ARM's latest ARM11 and Cortex cores, which are expected to appear in products next year. ARM says Cortex-based ultra-mobiles running Ubuntu Linux and capable lasting an eight-hour working day between charges will be available next year.

Flash works within browsers but AIR, which offers similar features, runs native on the client device. They are rivals to Microsoft's Silverlight technology, which also aims to be platform independent.

Gary Kovacs, Mobile and Devices general manager at Adobe, said the collaboration with ARM would "help make browsing and applications as rich and powerful in mobile as they are on the desktop.”

A Flash player has already been developed for Apple's iPhone, which include ARM technology, but it not been endorsed by Steve Jobs.