Is iPad lack of Flash support an AT&T network management technique?

Talking the IPad, Kids, Making Money and Video [Blog Maverick]

Mark Cuban makes a good point about the lack of Adobe Flash integration on Apple's iPad. Flash, which drives nearly all online video sites, hasn't been included on any of the first three models of the iPhone and is also notably absent from the iPad. In the past, Apple has cited difficulties with the integration of Flash with its iPhone operating system. Without Flash integration, users surfing the web from their iPhone, and now the iPad, lose much of the rich Flash content on the web - including many streaming video web sites.

Cuban believes that the lack of Flash isn't a software problem related to the iPhone OS, but a hardware issue related to the fragility of AT&T's wireless network - the exclusive wireless provider for the iPhone and iPad users that choose to pay extra for a model that includes mobile connectivity. Apple has had three years to figure out how to put Flash support into the iPhone, but hasn't. Maybe it's related to the fact that if iPhone and iPad users had Flash they could begin streaming videos via AT&T's network, consuming much more bandwidth than they do now - additional bandwidth that AT&T's wireless network just isn't able to deliver. Cuban likens Apple's gatekeeper status on Flash to a pre-emptive network management on behalf of Apple.

And even though Apple listened to their customers and will provide an AT&T-free model of the iPad, those users will be subject to the same absence of Flash from the device, even though they're able to use broadband connections via wi-fi that will be more than capable of supporting the demand for streaming video.

Comments

[Mark]

While I'm glad to see that Apple is offering an AT&T-free option for the iPad, I am not impressed with the device to begin with. While I know that ARM-based netbooks are supposed to be coming out this year, I think Apple missed the mark by having this device run off of the iPhone OS vs. a full (or even cut down) copy of OSX. I think that the oversized iPod Touch will end up competing with ebook readers, not with netbooks, especially with Apple's premium prices on their devices. Thanks, but I'll stick with my much cheaper netbook that lets me take all of my favorite software with me.

I am not completely sold on Apple's lack of Flash support being an AT&T thing (although I would not put it past AT&T). I think it might also be due to a lack of CPU power on their mobile devices. My smartphone has a 520MHz ARM CPU, and it struggles with flash videos. With Apple's quality standards, I don't think that they would add a feature to a mobile device of theirs that was not silky smooth in its operation. While the iPad's 1GHz ARM CPU should be sufficient to show flash videos, it was probably easier for Apple to simply use their existing iPhone OS image, rather than rewrite it to support flash for their new device.

[JJ]

If this is an AT&T thing, then why is flash absent form iPhones around the world?, why would AT&T support VOIP over 3G and now SLingbox over 3G via the iPhone?

I dont think the long standing fued between Adobe (the company that produces Flash) and Apple is any secret. In fact several companies have stood up in protest of Flash and in support of a new internet standard HTML5, including Google. This is why Flash is absent from the Android operating system as well.

This is just another opportunity to put AT&T down. Not that I blame the source. Why would the CEO of a cable company stand in support of anything from the big telcos?

[Derrick]

Apple (Steve) doesn't want Flash on their iPhone or iPad because they won't have as much control of what can run on it. Users will have access to apps outside of the app store, which is exactly what Jobs doesn't want.

As we can see from the past, just because there is a spec doesn't mean that all the browsers will match it. Flash does an excellent job of providing a cross platform/cross browser runtime without developers having to worry about a slew of browser compatibility issues. The same thing will happen with HTML5.

HTML5 is just a markup language, and an API specification. Some things done in HTML5/CSS3/JavaScript will be able to replace Flash. However, it will only succeed if all browsers implement it to work the same way.

The things that HTML5 are claiming to accomplish, Flash has been doing for years. The fact that some browsers are now choosing to implement it doesn't mean that flash is going away any time soon.