After the fanfare of the new iPad launch and Apple claiming that they do not use Flash because it is bug ridden and prone to crashing, Adobe (makers of Flash) have hit back suggesting that Apple want total control of all streams on their hardware.

The lack of  the Adobe plug-in eliminates the use of popular websites slike YouTube, Hulu and many other streaming websites on both Apple’s new device as well as the iPod and iPhone. It has always been thought that the flash player was too resource hungry and battery intensive, but that has been denied.

Adobe group product manager for Flash, Adrian Ludwig said:- “It’s because Apple is protecting revenue streams derived from content like movies and games. If users could watch free TV shows on Hulu, they wouldn’t buy them through iTunes. It’s pretty clear if you connect the dots: the issue is about revenue,”

Ludwig denied that Flash is excluded from Apple’s mobile devices because it is buggy, crash-prone or puts an excessive strain on batteries. He also said there is no technical reason that Flash should not be on the iPad as well as the iPhone. Adobe is working with about 50 partners in the mobile space, including Google, Nokia and HTC, as well as 19 out of 20 handset manufacturers. Ludwig said the Flash player is stable and would perform well on hardware like the iPad.

“We’ve been seeing great performance on similar devices,” he said. “The hardware is very capable.”

But Ludwig notes that if Flash were available on the iPad, users could watch TV shows on Hulu for free instead of buying them through iTunes. Likewise, users could play some of the hundreds of Flash games on sites like Miniclip, instead of buying games through the App Store, on which Apple takes a 30% cut of every sale.

“Apple has eliminated any way to get content on the device that they don’t own,” says Ludwig. “Apple is keeping the device closed to protect their revenue streams.”

Ludwig notes that other companies’ technologies that could be used to serve content or games are also excluded — Java, Ruby, Python and .Net.

“We’re not the only one,” he says. “Flash is what people are focused on but it’s not just Flash that’s not working. They’ve blocked a whole lot more than that… It’s a universal restriction. We’re trying to raise the issue,” he adds. “We’re talking about long-term damage to the development environment. We’re just the poster child for this.”

Ludwig says Adobe has been working closely with Apple on Flash for the iPhone, but wasn’t aware Apple had tested it on the iPad.

“We haven’t received any communication that they are testing Flash on the iPad or any feedback about its performance,” Ludwig says. “If there’s any truth that it’s buggy, I’d love to help them out.”

Flash have been further hit by the news that YouTube have announced support for flash alternative HTML 5. Other video websites like Vimeo are also looking at new player options.

It has always seemed a little strange, and convenient that Apple cannot utilise flash. When you look at the implications of flash being available on Apple products, you wonder if they ever will.

Related posts:

1. How To Watch Adobe Flash Videos On An iPad
2. iPad Has A Rival In HP Slate That can Play Flash Video Streams
3. Hulu Say No To HTML5 And Yes To Flash Video Player
4. Why There is no Flash On Mobile And Touch Screens Computers
5. Youtube Engineers Prefer Flash To HTML5 Video Player