A few exotic devices

Just came back from MAX08 in San Francisco - and I gotta tell ya: The world of Flash for Mobile just got a bit more exciting...

As you all are probably aware Adobe has announced plans for a Distributable Player as well as Flash Player 10 support for high-end phones. Cool stuff although a ways off still (Q4 2009).

Inspired by these cool initiatives I thought I would take the time to describe a few cool devices I recently got my hands on - and no, there is no Flash Lite for iPhone announcement below.

HTC Touch Pro
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Windows Mobile 6.1 - no Flash Lite pre-installed, but the downloadable from Adobe.ccm for WM5 works fine. Apparently a new version of IE for WM including FL3 is forthcoming. This device is very nice although a bit on the clunky side. The touchscreen is poor to say the least. We use it for developing a business oriented Flash Lite app targeted for that specific device. But still, using buttons and such is a nice departure from the Nokia based development we're used to.

Sony Ericsson C905
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This phone turned my view of SE completely around. It's the coolest thing ever. 8.1 MP camera, FL pre-installed, WiFi support - you name it. It swallows battery like crazy and FL doesn't run in standalone mode (which always bothered me about SE phones). But other than that it's sweet as sugar. This particular device also supports the Capuchin extensions to Flash Lite (device integration like GPS, Contacts etc.)

HTC G1
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The Android phone is still something of a rarity over here in Europe - and getting it activated was a challenge. But it was worth the effort. In my humble opinion this device and OS beats the iPhone hands down. It doesn't have Flash Lite yet - but will support Flash player 10 at some point in the future (as demoed by Adobe CTO Kevin Lynch at MAX2008). I can't wait to see the next devices to use Android - it shows great promise for the future.

iPhone (all versions)
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Been there done that - yea its cool - but I'd rather be Mr. PC and have the greatest marketshare. But it's fantastic as an MP3 player...

Next on the hitlist
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Nokia 5800. The first real attempt from Nokia to take a stab at the iPhone-type devices. They will win. The device is very cool (from the brief hands-on I've had) at it will sell at a reasonable price in all the known universe.


Anyway, just thought I'd share a few experiences.