Earlier this year, Adobe had promised to port Adobe AIR to Android mobile devices by the end of the year (others to come later). It announced today that it has made good on its promise for Google Android (with some limitations).
Adobe AIR, a key component of the Adobe Flash Platform, enables developers to use a single development platform and reuse existing code to quickly build applications that run outside the browser, across multiple screens, devices and platforms. Because the source code and assets are reusable across the Flash Platform runtimes (AIR and Flash Player), it also gives developers a way to more rapidly target other mobile and desktop environments.
Adobe today posted the Adobe AIR runtime to the Android Market. This will allow developers to distribute their applications to Android smartphones and tablets. Unfortunately, the runtime is only available for Android 2.2 devices with the following minimum specifications (essentially the same as for Adobe’s Flash plug-in):
- ARMv7-A Processor
- OpenGL ES2.0
- H.264 & AAC H/W Decoders
- 256MB RAM
The first time you download an AIR application, if you have not already downloaded AIR to your Android device, the application will prompt you to download it first. Adobe also expects that it will be preinstalled on many upcoming smartphones and tablets.
Now bring on the AIR apps…