Carlos Icaza, Walter Luh, Eric Herrmann & Evan Kirchhoff all left Adobe from what they perceived as excessive bureaucracy and an overall lack of vision on the mobile front to start Ansca Mobile.

Carlos Icaza managed & Walter Luh led the Adobe Flash Lite engineering team as they feel in the end that Flash will ONLY work effectively on Android 2.2 devices & beyond – with only limited Flash use, if at all, on all versions prior.

They point to the chronic delays in Flash being fully available on Android & mobile devices as a whole due to the fact that Adobe was too bogged down in trying to support everything and anything with its “write once deploy everywhere” strategy (i.e.: the Open Screen Project).

Flash Lite was a mobile subset of Flash, and Adobe — instead of focusing its efforts into making the right product for the iPhone or Android — decided to stubbornly write their own version which resulted in a slow and heavy product.

They feel Flash will be around as long as there will be alternatives to the iPhone such as Android and other mobile devices such as Palm and Nokia, but it is not the panacea.

There are many reasons why Flash will still underperform and be heavy in terms of size as its good for playing Flash content, but not for native apps

A simple demo of a “Hello World” app witnessed at 360iDev came in at 8MB on an iPhone device – contrast that to a Ansca Mobile Corona “Hello World” app which was roughly about ~400KB.

Over at Mobile Martin I go over the Ansca Mobile Corona solution for Flash mobile applications & game development as well their easy one click porting of your Android app to the iPhone / iPad & vice versa.

Team Behind Flash Lite Explain Adobe Android Delays & a Better Solution with Ansca Mobile

Post from: Google And Blog

As the Apple iPad nears its launch on Saturday April 3rd, 2010 I thought this comic from FoxTrot was a clever twist on the iPad promises.

As opposed to the huge head-start Apple had in the smartphone race there are many Android tablets already out & more upcoming that are more powerful & cheaper but without the Apple price premium.

Apple believes that the iPad is something that will save publishing and the news media while also self serving themselves with another monopolistic app monetization gravy train.

Apple is just looking to avoid any competition holes in the feeding trough by preventing Flash.

This FoxTrot comic calls out publicly the lack of Flash support before the iPad launch to remind all those that sold out on the preorder who its really helping.

iPad Wont Save The Flash

Post from: Google And Blog

Last week I was speaking on Android at SMX West an Internet Marketing conference in Santa Clara California just outside San Jose.

Keynoting the SMX West conference was Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer, when Q&A was opened to the audience I asked him his vision of Microsoft in the mobile space going forward.

At the 1 hour 21 minute 50 seconds point in the Ustream video below I spoke to Steve Ballmer.

I first complemented the Windows Phone 7 which does look impressive although I believe Android & the iPhone will leapfrog it by the time it actually comes out at the end of the year.

I then asked Mr Ballmer where Microsoft sees the monetization play in mobile as they won’t remove their licensing fees with Windows Mobile 7 while at the same time scoffing at Android with its no licensing fee as “free as a puppy“.

His answer was a summation of focusing on licensing fees along with subscription services and advertising.

When he didn’t mention mobile applications, I asked is that because of HTML5, and he said HTML5 IS apps and there will always be a need for local applications but didn’t specify how Microsoft will approach it.

I then spoke on a Mobile Search Apps & Opportunities panel as I talked about Android and its emergence not just in units sold but mind-share.

The audience was Internet marketers and marketers in general so its purpose was to make sure they divert internal resources and focus to producing Android applications for marketing purposes.

The slidedeck from my presentation is below although I verbally added many points not in the slides themselves.

Please let me know anything I should add or update as I will be speaking on Android in April across the border in Canada at SMX Toronto.

Asking Steve Ballmer on Mobile & Android at SMX West

Post from: Google And Blog

Matt had the G1 as a Google employee Christmas gift back in 2008 and used it along with his iPhone but once the Google covered G1 mobile plan expired he shifted back to solely using his iPhone.

The picture above I took with him in the speaker lounge at PubCon South in Austin Texas, about a year ago, just before SXSW when he had abandoned his own G1 and later in the year his hair.

He was then provided the Nexus One back in December 2009 as part of the Google dogfood process which he couldn’t declare publicly until after the Google announcement of the phone on January 5th, 2010.

Matt was asking shortly after that event in January what to give up for his next 30 day challenge and I suggested his iPhone to which he thought would be an interesting challenge.

I will see Matt Cutts next week at SMX West in Santa Clara, interestingly after Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer keynotes the conference, to get his latest thoughts on the Nexus One, Android, and life after the iPhone.

I believe Matt will use this conference to declare when Google Caffeine will be released, but please let me know any questions you would like him to answer specifically on Android.

You may recall seeing Matt sans hair at the Nexus One event with Danny Sullivan looking at the larger than life N1.

Matt Cutts Goes Android Ditches iPhone

Post from: Google And Blog

Last week Apple with its undeclared rules are removing applications that are considered by THEM to be “overtly sexual content…there will be no more applications that are for any purpose of excitement or titillation”

The Android Market welcomed “titillation” this weekend alone with a PornHub, Strip Blackjack, and even a Sexy Feet app while adding “excitement” with the Google Earth application today (for Android 2.1).

The Android Market is not great but its kept honest since it embraces an open market system by allowing other independent markets and means to acquire Android apps.

So if it teeters on becoming a cess pool or inundated with adult/crap applications then people can go elsewhere, thus to hedge this from happening it allows Android users to have a voice in voting and notifying which applications should be reviewed.

Google will then review the application within 3 days and remove it – this has only been an issue to date of approximately 1% of all Android applications.

In a way the Android Market becomes a sort of Statue of Liberty for applications, adopting a similar credo etched onto the statue itself, “Keep your ancient lands, your storied pomp! Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

The rules Apple applies become even more nebulous since it has undefined constraints to applications that independent developers devote time and money toward before ultimately getting rejected while FHM, Sports Illustrated, & Playboy get a pass.

What choice do you have comrade since the politburo at Apple knows whats best for you and doesn’t need any checks and balances since the App Store is the ONLY means of acquiring apps for the iPhone.

The iPhone also made sure it has its own Berlin Wall blocking out Flash to secure its grip over any possible means of acquiring or using unapproved applications.

An interesting possible explanation of this is from PC World arguing that Apple’s plan is to secure children first by getting them hooked on the iPod as a sort of gateway drug and then they can graduate to the iPhone before ultimately using the iPad as an educational resource – as such it can’t sully this environment with adult material.

So the iPhone is a sort of Disney phone keeping people locked in a sort of Never Never Land, but I prefer the more “exciting and titillating” rides at Six Flags so I will go with an Android phone.

Android of Liberty is Made for Adults

Post from: Google And Blog