Apple and Adobe Will "Get Over It"

The recent minor storm over the lack of Flash capability on the iPhone and iPad may generate something more useful than rants over Apple putting out a weak product and Adobe being lazy.There is some truth to the fact that the iPad is not yet a finished product, but looking at the phenomenal sales and the huge number of applications available for the iPhone (all of which work on the iPad), it seems reasonable to say the iPad will soon have some very meaty programs in the very near future. Far beyond what can be done on a small screen device.

Sure Jobs is ticked that Google got into the smartphone business, but Apple isn’t used to being the only player out there. The Android OS is pretty good and the competition may well take some market share away from Apple, but for consumers, having two really good OS’s for Smartphones is a good thing. And as an iPhone user who had to downgrade to a Blackberry because the ATT&T plan is simply too pricey, I can appreciate the lower rate deal Apple struck. But I’d like to see it applied to my iPhone. Better, I’d like to see Verizon support both products.

Frankly, I think Jobs is probably right that Flash dominance days are numbered. Still, folks want a product that works with the tools available today, and not having Flash support certainly cripples some web sites (and not just porn sites: as another nearly laughable retort from Apple implied).

In Apple’s defense, yeah it should have had a webcam for Skype, but some folks wanted a web cam, a still cam and a video cam. You can’t please everyone and still hit that $499 price tag. Not sure what Adobe would have wanted to license Flash, but I’m betting that was a bigger problem the “Bugginess” of the product.

What’s interesting is the notable lack of Microsoft amidst all this banter. I mean who is talking about Windows Mobile these days? Or even Windows 7? Aren’t people still sticking with XP Pro as the only really decent OS Microsoft has managed to come up with? (Personally, I’ve been impressed with Windows 7).

Here’s the thing, if the iPad sells like Apple thinks it will, developers including Adobe and maybe even Microsoft will develop for the platform. I’m not expecting an Adobe CS4 or MS Office for iPad in 2010, but get a few million users and you have a real market.

One reasonable question is whether there will be another product like the iPad in the next year or so. My bet is that folks will stick with netbooks and eBook readers and wait to see what happens with the iPad. But if it succeeds, there will be Droid Tablets, HP slates, and Dell Pads.

Oh, and yes I think iPad was a lousy choice for a name.

SB
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