Android may need an update to run Flash 10.1, expected in Q2 2010

Posted on 10 Feb 2010 at 14:41

Adobe has announced that its next update to Flash, version 10.1, will require an update to the Android operating system before it will run. Flash 10.1 is the first version of the multimedia platform that supports hardware acceleration, which means it can use your dedicated graphics card to speed up movies in YouTube or Flash games such as Farmville.

It's also the first version to be rolled out across multiple devices, so as well as playing YouTube videos on your PC you can now watch them on your mobile phone - as long as it's not an iPhone, which won't be supported at release. But Android users will also have to wait, it seems.

Adrian Ludwig, group product marketing manager for Flash Platform, said, "Support for full Flash Player 10.1 requires some enhancements to existing versions of Android. These enhancements are expected to be available as an upgrade to existing devices and for new devices starting in Q2 2010."

It's not clear from this statement whether the "update" will be a new version of Android, or simply a patch for existing versions that can be rolled out to all Android phones. The current 2.1 version of Android, called "Eclair", is only available on the Google Nexus One, and updates to 2.1 are only available for a handful of older handsets.

Android releases are named after desserts: the first major update was "Cupcake" (1.5), followed by "Donut" (1.6) and "Eclair" (2.0-2.1). The next release will be called Froyo ("frozen yoghurt"), and it's just been revealed that the following version will be known as "Gingerbread", although it's not clear what version numbers these code names refer to.

Author: Barry de la Rosa

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