As much as I love my iPad — and I definitely do — I’m always glad to see other folks starting to compete in the tablet market space. Samsung got there reasonably quickly with their Tab of course, and RIM has entered the field with their new Blackberry Playbook (which Dan got a look at not too long ago).
One of the knocks Apple has taken with regard to their iPad (and iPhone) is the lack of Flash support. Well, RIM isn’t going there; the Playbook supports a whole buncha’ Adobe features. ”What features are those, Doug?” I hear you cry. Well, read on!
Aside from Flash Player support for a full web browsing experience, RIM’s platform offers native AIR support and apps from Adobe and other developers. Using AIR, content publishers are now able to extend apps across desktops, smartphones, tablets and televisions that run Windows, Mac OS, Android, iOS, BlackBerry Tablet OS and Samsung SmartTV.
· Adobe AIR
With native support for AIR and familiar tools in Adobe Creative Suite, including Flash Professional CS, Flash Builder and the open source Flex mobile framework, designers and developers are able to build and deliver rich, cross-platform apps. With the PlayBook’s support for AIR native extensions, developers are able to create mobile apps, which include exactly the right mix of Flash, HTML and native code to deliver the optimal app experience on the device. For more details on examples – Facebook, Epix, Gaming apps etc. – and to read more visit http://blogs.adobe.com/flashplatform/ .
· Adobe Connect Mobile
The new Adobe Connect Mobile for BlackBerry PlayBook app provides users a complete web conferencing experience, including two-way video, with the benefit and convenience of a touch screen. Read more about the app, and watch a video demo, on the Adobe Connect blog athttp://adobe.ly/fpUjBJ. The AIR app is now available for free download from BlackBerry App World and allows users to connect with others across devices and platforms that support Android, iOS, Windows and Mac OS.
· Adobe Content Viewer
Adobe Digital Publishing Suite along with the Folio Producer tools in Creative Suite 5.5 allow media and business publishers to distribute and extend their publication titles and brands on the BlackBerry PlayBook. Adobe is first to market with Content Viewer for BlackBerry PlayBook which is immediately available to content publishers through the Digital Publishing Suite Pre-release program and will be posted to BlackBerry App World. To read more, please visithttp://blogs.adobe.com/digitalpublishing/2011/04/playbook.html.
· Flash Player
Flash Player enables a full browsing experience so that PlayBook users can enjoy the broad array of video, games, animations and other rich, interactive Flash based content that is part of the web. This latest release of Flash Player incorporates hardware accelerated video decoding and rendering to provide users with a great video experience, including playback of up to 1080p HD video. Users are able to view rich video content on the device’s own screen or any HD television via HDMI. Read more athttp://blogs.adobe.com/flashplatform/.
· Adobe Reader
The highly-anticipated BlackBerry PlayBook tablet will ship with Adobe Reader X for high-quality and fast viewing of rich content through the ubiquitous PDF. PlayBook users will have access to advanced features in Adobe Reader including Touch-based gestures for efficient navigation and zoom in the PDF, Page Navigator interface for fast navigation within large files, accelerometer support and File manager for quick access to PDF files on the PlayBook tablet. Learn more ways you can view and interact with PDF documents on-the-go by visiting: http://www.adobe.com/products/reader/features.html.
· Adobe LiveCycle
Adobe LiveCycle Mobile for BlackBerry PlayBook helps organizations increase employee productivity, improve brand equity, lower costs and improve the customer facing engagement across screens and devices, anywhere, anytime. By providing remote task approvals, organizations can significantly broaden B2B and B2C interactions typically limited to static desktop and laptop devices and channels. To learn more, please visit: http://blogs.adobe.com/mobile/.
