When Android first unveiled on the HTC Dream cell phone in October 2008, it was considered an “iPhone Killer.” Although it didn’t necessarily slay Apple’s cell phone, it marked the first move forward in the rebellion against the tyrannous iPhone and its lack of Adobe Flash capabilities.
Technology connoisseur and senior computer science major Gabe Shreckengost said he is an avid supporter of the Android operating system. He is constantly on his Motorola Droid X cell phone, taking advantage of its true multi-tasking abilities, like Adobe Flash support, which is not provided by the iPhone operating system, a definite drawback for Apple iPhone users.
Junior respiratory care major and proud iPhone user Deadria Clarke said that Adobe Flash capabilities to the phones web browser would definitely make the iPhone a more user-friendly device.
This debate stems from the implementation of HTML5. A lot of companies are starting to push for HTML5, the newest version of HTML that is aimed to keep computers and devices up to an improved standard. The original HTML language was invented in 1990.
Android and Apple are both advertizing HTML 5 and the very well-designed Web application that the new standard will bring to consumers.
But iOS and Android conflict on how to manage the Adobe Flash video, which happens to be the most popular system for Web video. Apple refuses to allow Adobe Flash functionality to be built into iOS, and is pushing for Web sites to adopt iOS-friendly video with an mp4 wrapper, which is what allows video streaming over the Internet.
Android supports Adobe Flash 10.1 in Android 2.2 or greater, but the only way to even watch Flash video on an iPhone is to use the newest iOS version of Skyfire, which is a browser allows users to play flash videos from the web that do not play or play poorly on cell phones.
