Media Exploration: "Port-Ability"

Right around this time a year ago, at the start of 2009, you couldn't type flash in combination with the word iPhone and expect much of a result. Last week 7 million tried to download flash with their iPhone. So why the big deal? Killer apps, and the possibility of getting services like Netflix or Youtube on your smart phones.

For creating an iPhone app, Smashing Magazine lays out the steps pretty well. However, in the past it was expensive to develop for the iPhone. In addition to having the phone you needed to join a $99 developer program. It was also a daunting task developing alone for a project. Needing the skills of a web developer, interactive producer, graphic illustrator, programmer (Objective C), and understanding the source; the SDK which you needed to download.

With the release of CS5, Adobe will have a flash platform tool to develop standalone applications for the iPhone. Originally it was going to be released in open beta but since there is no open beta now, only the few developers in private beta have had a chance to use it.

Here are some of the features listed at Adobe Labs that will come with the Flash Platform Tooling -

• MultiTouch
• Screen Orientation
• Saving images to Photo Library
• Accelerometer
• Geo-location
• Cut / Copy / Paste

These are some powerful API's. Accessible to flash developers using AS3. Also you can play H.264 video on the iPhone. Which means that Netflix and Youtube are sure to come soon. You can find these apps at the Apple store - designed in flash! Crunchyroll and SouthPark

So what does that mean for us as Flash developers in training. I think now is the best time ever and probably the most lucrative to get involved with Flash. The average hourly rate for a flash developer is $38.51 and the average hourly rate for a mobile app developer is $213.67 It will be interesting to see what will happen to the Flash development community after the launch of CS5. Also - iPhone aside there will be the Android, Palm Pre, Symbian, and Windows Mobile to design for; which already have flash working.