Read from the CEO himself after the break.

Apple has a long relationship with Adobe. In fact, we met Adobe’s founders when they were in their proverbial garage. Apple was their first big customer, adopting their Postscript language for our new Laserwriter printer. Apple invested in Adobe and owned around 20% of the company for many years. The two companies worked closely together to pioneer desktop publishing and there were many good times. Since that golden era, the companies have grown apart. Apple went through its near death experience, and Adobe was drawn to the corporate market with their Acrobat products. Today the two companies still work together to serve their joint creative customers – Mac users buy around half of Adobe’s Creative Suite products – but beyond that there are few joint interests.

I wanted to jot down some of our thoughts on Adobe’s Flash products so that customers and critics may better understand why we do not allow Flash on iPhones, iPods and iPads. Adobe has characterized our decision as being primarily business driven – they say we want to protect our App Store – but in reality it is based on technology issues. Adobe claims that we are a closed system, and that Flash is open, but in fact the opposite is true. Let me explain.

First, there’s “Open”.

Adobe’s Flash products are 100% proprietary. They are only available from Adobe, and Adobe has sole authority as to their future enhancement, pricing, etc. While Adobe’s Flash products are widely available, this does not mean they are open, since they are controlled entirely by Adobe and available only from Adobe. By almost any definition, Flash is a closed system.

Apple has many proprietary products too. Though the operating system for the iPhone, iPod and iPad is proprietary, we strongly believe that all standards pertaining to the web should be open. Rather than use Flash, Apple has adopted HTML5, CSS and JavaScript – all open standards. Apple’s mobile devices all ship with high performance, low power implementations of these open standards. HTML5, the new web standard that has been adopted by Apple, Google and many others, lets web developers create advanced graphics, typography, animations and transitions without relying on third party browser plug-ins (like Flash). HTML5 is completely open and controlled by a standards committee, of which Apple is a member.

Apple even creates open standards for the web. For example, Apple began with a small open source project and created WebKit, a complete open-source HTML5 rendering engine that is the heart of the Safari web browser used in all our products. WebKit has been widely adopted. Google uses it for Android’s browser, Palm uses it, Nokia uses it, and RIM (Blackberry) has announced they will use it too. Almost every smartphone web browser other than Microsoft’s uses WebKit. By making its WebKit technology open, Apple has set the standard for mobile web browsers.

Second, there’s the “full web”.

Adobe has repeatedly said that Apple mobile devices cannot access “the full web” because 75% of video on the web is in Flash. What they don’t say is that almost all this video is also available in a more modern format, H.264, and viewable on iPhones, iPods and iPads. YouTube, with an estimated 40% of the web’s video, shines in an app bundled on all Apple mobile devices, with the iPad offering perhaps the best YouTube discovery and viewing experience ever. Add to this video from Vimeo, Netflix, Facebook, ABC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, ESPN, NPR, Time, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Sports Illustrated, People, National Geographic, and many, many others. iPhone, iPod and iPad users aren’t missing much video.

Another Adobe claim is that Apple devices cannot play Flash games. This is true. Fortunately, there are over 50,000 games and entertainment titles on the App Store, and many of them are free. There are more games and entertainment titles available for iPhone, iPod and iPad than for any other platform in the world.

Third, there’s reliability, security and performance.

Symantec recently highlighted Flash for having one of the worst security records in 2009. We also know first hand that Flash is the number one reason Macs crash. We have been working with Adobe to fix these problems, but they have persisted for several years now. We don’t want to reduce the reliability and security of our iPhones, iPods and iPads by adding Flash.

In addition, Flash has not performed well on mobile devices. We have routinely asked Adobe to show us Flash performing well on a mobile device, any mobile device, for a few years now. We have never seen it. Adobe publicly said that Flash would ship on a smartphone in early 2009, then the second half of 2009, then the first half of 2010, and now they say the second half of 2010. We think it will eventually ship, but we’re glad we didn’t hold our breath. Who knows how it will perform?

Fourth, there’s battery life.

To achieve long battery life when playing video, mobile devices must decode the video in hardware; decoding it in software uses too much power. Many of the chips used in modern mobile devices contain a decoder called H.264 – an industry standard that is used in every Blu-ray DVD player and has been adopted by Apple, Google (YouTube), Vimeo, Netflix and many other companies.

Although Flash has recently added support for H.264, the video on almost all Flash websites currently requires an older generation decoder that is not implemented in mobile chips and must be run in software. The difference is striking: on an iPhone, for example, H.264 videos play for up to 10 hours, while videos decoded in software play for less than 5 hours before the battery is fully drained.

When websites re-encode their videos using H.264, they can offer them without using Flash at all. They play perfectly in browsers like Apple’s Safari and Google’s Chrome without any plugins whatsoever, and look great on iPhones, iPods and iPads.

Fifth, there’s Touch.

Flash was designed for PCs using mice, not for touch screens using fingers. For example, many Flash websites rely on “rollovers”, which pop up menus or other elements when the mouse arrow hovers over a specific spot. Apple’s revolutionary multi-touch interface doesn’t use a mouse, and there is no concept of a rollover. Most Flash websites will need to be rewritten to support touch-based devices. If developers need to rewrite their Flash websites, why not use modern technologies like HTML5, CSS and JavaScript?

Even if iPhones, iPods and iPads ran Flash, it would not solve the problem that most Flash websites need to be rewritten to support touch-based devices.

Sixth, the most important reason.

Besides the fact that Flash is closed and proprietary, has major technical drawbacks, and doesn’t support touch based devices, there is an even more important reason we do not allow Flash on iPhones, iPods and iPads. We have discussed the downsides of using Flash to play video and interactive content from websites, but Adobe also wants developers to adopt Flash to create apps that run on our mobile devices.

We know from painful experience that letting a third party layer of software come between the platform and the developer ultimately results in sub-standard apps and hinders the enhancement and progress of the platform. If developers grow dependent on third party development libraries and tools, they can only take advantage of platform enhancements if and when the third party chooses to adopt the new features. We cannot be at the mercy of a third party deciding if and when they will make our enhancements available to our developers.

This becomes even worse if the third party is supplying a cross platform development tool. The third party may not adopt enhancements from one platform unless they are available on all of their supported platforms. Hence developers only have access to the lowest common denominator set of features. Again, we cannot accept an outcome where developers are blocked from using our innovations and enhancements because they are not available on our competitor’s platforms.

Flash is a cross platform development tool. It is not Adobe’s goal to help developers write the best iPhone, iPod and iPad apps. It is their goal to help developers write cross platform apps. And Adobe has been painfully slow to adopt enhancements to Apple’s platforms. For example, although Mac OS X has been shipping for almost 10 years now, Adobe just adopted it fully (Cocoa) two weeks ago when they shipped CS5. Adobe was the last major third party developer to fully adopt Mac OS X.

Our motivation is simple – we want to provide the most advanced and innovative platform to our developers, and we want them to stand directly on the shoulders of this platform and create the best apps the world has ever seen. We want to continually enhance the platform so developers can create even more amazing, powerful, fun and useful applications. Everyone wins – we sell more devices because we have the best apps, developers reach a wider and wider audience and customer base, and users are continually delighted by the best and broadest selection of apps on any platform.

Conclusions.

Flash was created during the PC era – for PCs and mice. Flash is a successful business for Adobe, and we can understand why they want to push it beyond PCs. But the mobile era is about low power devices, touch interfaces and open web standards – all areas where Flash falls short.

The avalanche of media outlets offering their content for Apple’s mobile devices demonstrates that Flash is no longer necessary to watch video or consume any kind of web content. And the 200,000 apps on Apple’s App Store proves that Flash isn’t necessary for tens of thousands of developers to create graphically rich applications, including games.

New open standards created in the mobile era, such as HTML5, will win on mobile devices (and PCs too). Perhaps Adobe should focus more on creating great HTML5 tools for the future, and less on criticizing Apple for leaving the past behind.

Steve Jobs
April, 2010

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After his bride is murdered by a vampire, Vincent, (a dangerous hunter for a secret organization) sets out for revenge against the monster that killed his wife. Poisoned by hatred and driven by rage, Vincent wages war on the plague of vampires that has infested and destroyed all that was good in the world.

Game features:

• Take control of Vincent in the most intense survival horror ever to hit the iPhone and iPod touch.
• Dark gothic atmosphere with exquisite 3D environments.
• Detailed character models and gripping realism.
• Four weapons available to fend off the vampiric hordes.
• Thrilling boss fights based on actual sword fighting techniques.
• Multiple control methods: Dual-stick or touchscreen interface.
• Three stages of detailed story-driven gameplay, or try your luck in Survival Mode.
• Full Crystal integration including challenges, achievements leaderboards and social networking.

Check out Vampire Origins from the App Store, available now for only $6.99. Here’s a couple of screenshots and a trailer from the game to whet your appetite.

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The great people over at Vaja sent me a review unit of the Limited Edition Black & Red leather case. If you check Vaja’s web site over at Vajacases.com, there’s a lot of choices when it comes to protecting your prized investment, which is the iPhone. However, this particular Black & Red leather case suits my preference a lot.

Appearance first. On the outside of the case, you’ll notice the nice textures of the heavily grained black leather coupled with Vaja’s signature logo attached. Although it looks very rough, the leather is actually quite smooth to the touch and adds a little help when gripping the device. On the inside you’ll find a contrastingly smooth Vaja logo-embossed leather in red. This particular color combination seems to be very well thought out – the red makes an otherwise boring black exciting.

On the back of the device, you’ll notice an extra puff which trades thickness for some added protection. The corner on the back was cut out to give space for the camera, which I believe some of us would not like due to the extra exposure given to that particular area. When I first installed the casing onto my iPhone 3GS, I had a little trouble due to the camera lens being obstructed by the casing. A few pushes later and everything’s fine.

Comparing this case with the other Vaja case for my iPod touch that I reviewed, the Black n’ Red has got one main difference – the cover opens to the bottom of the device instead. Charging this device means having to open the case, which is a small matter. Aside to that, the case does provide a substantial coverage when closed, exposing only the silent and volume controls as well as the headphone jack at the top.

The Black n’ Red costs $80 (an additional $5 if you opt for the version with an Ultra Clip) is definitely a premium product. But do keep in mind that you are paying for a high-quality hand-made leather product with its very own distinctive class and design.

Check out Vaja’s web site for more information and to purchase.

Rating: 4.5/5.0 Taps

Accessories Data
Product name: Vaja iVolution Black n’ Red Limited Edition Leather Case for iPhone 3G/3GS | Manufactured by: Vaja Corp | Purchase from: Vaja Corp, starts @ $80.00 | Compatible with: iPhone 3G/3GS

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Happy New Year folks! May you have a blessed new year and new decade! Well, what is January 1st without any gifts or celebration?

A group of independent iPhone developers have banded together to bring the world a little bit of holiday cheer. Apps have been heavily discounted as a gift to all iPhone and iPod touch users! These applications will be discounted for at least 48 hours from December 31st 2009 to January 1st 2010.

Here’s the list of apps on sale:

• Twilight Golf, $1.99 (was $2.99)
• Crayon Ball, $1.99 (was $2.99)
• Eyegore’s Eye Blast, $0.99 (was $1.99)
• Pinch ‘n Pop!, $0.99 (was $1.99)
• Pollywog, $0.99 (was $1.99)
• Smiles Zen, $0.99 (was $1.99)
• Smiles, $1.99 (was $2.99)
• Train Conductor, $1.99 (was $3.99)
• iTweetReply, $0.99 (was $1.99)
• CatTaTa, $0.99 (was $1.99)
• RocketFuse, $0.99 (was $1.99)
• Rail Adventures, $0.99 (was $1.99)
• SpaceDuel, $0.99 (was $1.99)
• Ringo, $0.99 (was $1.99)
• Screw the Dealer Pro, $0.99 (was $1.99)
• CashMachine, $0.99 (was $1.99)
• Outnumbered, FREE (was $0.99)
• iHurt, $0.99 (was $1.99)
• Dragon Eye, FREE (was $0.99)
• iType2Go Pro, $0.99 (was $1.99)
• Tap-Fu, $0.99 (was $1.99)
• Rogueship, $1.99 (was $2.99)
• Hi, How Are You, $0.99 (was $1.99)
• 3D Wizard Wand, $0.99 (was $1.99)
• Sword of Fargoal, $2.99 (was $4.99)
• MatchTunes, $0.99 (was $2.99)
• Volcano Planet, FREE (was $0.99)
• AquaWars, FREE (was $0.99)
• Trace It, $0.99 (was $1.99)
• Battle for Wesnoth, $1.99 (was $4.99)

Go ahead, launch iTunes on your device or computer and start shopping away! http://www.newyearappblowout.com

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BattPowr Pro shows you the current percentage of battery life left on your device. Quickly view your remaining charge thru the large visual indicators.

BattPowr Pro also checks your device type and calculates the remaining hours and minutes for each different use, including: audio playback, video playback, web browsing on Wi-Fi, EDGE and 3G, talk time on both 2G and 3G networks, 2D and 3D gameplay as well as standby and charging times.

Features:

• accurate information on remaining battery time
• checks device type before estimating remaining time
• beautifully designed interface
• large visual indicators
• uncluttered design, scroll to view more readings
• battery image ANIMATES while device is charging
• Always On mode when charging, see your device charge itself
• toggle between different remaining time displays
• option to set default remaining time display
• shake device to refresh display

BattPowr Pro by XCool Apps has been updated a few times since release, adding new features and skins as well as bug fixes. BattPowr Pro supports ALL iPhones and iPod touch models, including iPhone 3GS and iPod touch 3G. Recently added is the full charge alarm that lets you know when your device is fully charged.

Don’t just settle for the usual battery app. BattPowr Pro adds more fun in charging your iPhone/iPod touch with an animated battery! BattPowr Pro’s full charge alarm is the best in the entire App Store! Select and customize your desired charge alarm. There are 14 different alerts to choose from!

Check out BattPowr Pro from the iTunes App Store for only $1.99. You may also get BattPowr Free for $0.00 to try out some of the exclusive features, then upgrade to BattPowr Pro. Either way, BattPowr is a great addition to your arsenal of tools for your iPhone or iPod touch.

BattPowr Pro [iTunes link]
BattPowr Free [iTunes link]
XCool Apps [link]

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