Adobe zeros in on handheld market
The burgeoning mobile-device market has prompted design software maker Adobe Systems to introduce a pair of flash players produced by recently acquired Macromedia.
Adobe announced on Tuesday the release of Macromedia's Flash Lite 2 and Flash Player SDK 7, designed to improve the visual content for handheld devices. The San Jose, Calif.-based company said it expects electronics makers to launch devices powered by Flash Lite 2 and Flash Player SDK7 later this year.
Plenty of consumer electronics companies are using flash technology, including Nokia, Samsung and Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications. Shipments of mobile devices using flash have more than tripled from 12 million to 45 million units in 2005, according to Adobe. Some of the gadgets where flash can be found are cell phones, TVs, media players and cameras.
Since finalizing its acquisition of Macromedia last month, Adobe has wasted little time in getting Macromedia products to market.
Greg Sandoval covers media and digital entertainment for CNET News. He is a former reporter for The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times. E-mail Greg, or follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/sandoCNET.
