While Flash does not work in Cupertino, it does seem to work in Redmond.  The Redmond based Microsoft has licensed Flash Lite and Reader for Windows Mobile Phones.  Keeping the Reader apart which lets the user view PDF files, inclusion of Flash Lite will provide Windows Mobile an edge over iPhone as there is a lot of flash content on the web.

Microsoft already has Flash Lite competitor in its product line i.e. mobile version of Silverlight but it doesn’t seem to be getting ready for release soon.  So while it is a temporary arrangement for Microsoft, it really makes sense because of the sheer numbers and reach of Flash.

Flash Lite is a mobile specific version of Adobe’s Flash and is one of the elements of Adobe’s Rich Internet Applications technology package.  Although all the RIA technologies seem far away from delivering a flash like experience on handheld devices, Adobe does lead the pack in RIA technology with its full spectrum of products but they really need to beef up their mobile platform to keep ahead of Silverlight.

See our coverage of various RIA technologies here.

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