Competition is harsh, but lucrative; at least Microsoft seems to think so, as besides its very own Silverlight, Windows Mobile will also support Adobe’s Flash Lite. The two companies made an announcement on Monday after Microsoft licensed Adobe’s Flash Lite software, specifically designed for mobile devices, together with Adobe Reader LE software for viewing Portable Document Formats (PDF).
“People want vibrant experiences and access to entertainment and information anywhere, anytime,’ said John O’Rourke, general manager, Mobile Communications Business at Microsoft Corp. “Bringing Flash Lite and Reader LE to Microsoft Mobile experience will give consumers more of their favorite websites on the go.”
We know the plans, but we don’t have timing yet neither for Adobe nor for Silverlight, but Microsoft’s new partners hope to see their technology integrated in Microsoft’s Windows Mobile group by the end of the year.
“We are thrilled to work with Microsoft to add playback of rich, web-based Flash Player compatible content and PDF document viewing to Windows Mobile,” said Al Ramadan, senior vice president, Mobile and Devices at Adobe. “Flash has revolutionized the way we experience content on the web and we are excited that Microsoft has decided to extend the experience of Flash technology to Windows Mobile users.”
The two companies are planning on bringing the ultimate Web experience to their users, who seem to become more and more eager to engage in mobile experiences similar to the PC ones. After all integration issues will be solved, users will be given a choice, which appears to be very important to Microsoft at the moment.
Silverlight is on the way, but Adobe’s Flash Lite is already a phenomenon, with 150 percent year-over-year growth and contracts with the world’s top handset manufacturers. At the same time, Windows Mobile is the number one smartphone platform in the world, so this looks like a good and promising combination.