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Prospective mobile phone consumers eager to get to grips with the Web via Microsoft’s Internet Explorer Mobile browser might be further tempted today following the announcement that Adobe’s Flash Lite runtime environment will soon be appearing on any and all future mobile phones using the Windows Mobile operating system.
Microsoft licenses Adobe Flash Lite and Reader LE for Windows Mobile. Credit: Flash.
Microsoft’s licensing of Adobe’s Flash Lite 3.x browser plug-in will enable Windows Mobile users to take full advantage of Flash-compatible video and interface content directly through Internet Explorer Mobile.
Beyond the integration of Flash Lite, Microsoft has also confirmed that it is licensing Adobe’s Reader LE software, which will allow Windows Mobile users to view Adobe Portable Format (PDF) files, documents, e-mail attachments and Web content on their phone handsets via improved screen-reading compatibility.
“People want vibrant web experiences and access to entertainment and information anywhere, anytime,” outlined John O’Rourke, general manager of Mobile Communications Business at Microsoft Corp. “Bringing Flash Lite and Reader LE to the Windows Mobile experience will give consumers more of their favorite websites on the go.”
During fiscal year 2007, Microsoft offers that it sold some 11 million Windows Mobile licenses, and that it fully expects to bolster that figure by a further 20 million licenses in fiscal year 2008.
Adobe has boasted that the world already holds in excess of 500 million mobile handsets and devices equipped with preinstalled Flash software, which equates to 150 percent year-over-year growth.
Beyond appearing on Windows Mobile devices, Adobe’s Flash Lite is also compatible with Symbian S60, Qualcomm BREW and other embedded mobile operating systems spread across various OEM platforms.
It remains to be seen how the arrival of Flash Lite on Windows Mobile affects the traction of Silverlight, which is Microsoft’s rival video-watching application.
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