Abode today announced that Flash 10.2 is coming to Android devices on March 18th. It will be available in the Android Market for for Android 2.2 (Froyo) and 2.3 (Gingerbread) devices which meet the Flash Player hardware system requirements. A beta release will also be available on that day for Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) tablets (but will require Google’s 3.0.1 system update).
We have been working very closely with Google to ensure tight integration between Flash Player 10.2 and new OS and browser capabilities in Android 3.0. The March 18th beta release of Flash Player 10.2 in conjunction with Google’s first system update to Android 3.0 (version 3.0.1) currently underway for the MOTOROLA XOOM will deliver the first phase of our work together. This will be followed by subsequent updates, which will complete the optimizations and result in a production GA release of Flash Player 10.2 for Android 3.0.
Flash Player 10.2 for Android includes new features such as
- Hardware accelerated video presentation for H.264 with reduced CPU usage and higher frame rates (Android 3.0.1+ only)
- Deeper integration with the Android browser rendering engine with improved page scrolling and optimized rendering of video and HTML content.(Android 3.0.1+ only)
- Performance improvements (including support for multi-core processors)
- A new ActionScript API to automatically launch and display the soft keyboard on touchscreen devices
In addition to being available on the Android Market, Flash Player 10.2 will also be pre-installed a number of upcoming tablets and smartphones and will be delivered as an OTA update to many existing devices.