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Microsoft gave out Samsung Windows 8 tablets at its 2011 BUILD Conference. Image: VentureBeat

The future of Flash looks dimmer and dimmer as another major player in the mobile space shuns support of the platform.

Microsoft’s brand new Windows 8 Metro user interface will not support Adobe Flash or other plug-ins, instead embracing the HTML5 set of web standards, according to Microsoft’s Internet Explorer team leader Dean Hachamovitch. For users who access legacy ActiveX controls, they’ll have to jump out of the Metro UI and switch to the classic-styled desktop browser.

Hachamovitch explains that running IE without Flash or other plug-ins “improves battery life as well as security, reliability, and privacy for consumers.” These are pretty much the same reasons that Apple doesn’t support Flash on its devices.

“Providing compatibility with legacy plug-in technologies would detract from, rather than improve, the consumer experience of browsing in the Metro style UI,” Hachamovitch wrote in a blog post on Thursday.

Of course, Adobe immediately went on the defensive, shifting attention away from Microsoft’s mobile devices.

“We expect Windows desktop to continue to be extremely popular for years to come and that it will support Flash just fine, including rich web-based games and premium videos that require Flash,” Adobe told Wired.com in a statement.

Adobe’s Flash product has had a rough time as computing has shifted to a mobile environment. Apple has long banned Flash from its mobile devices, publicly announcing the reasons (which Adobe directly responded to). Recently, Apple stopped shipping Flash capability with products like the 2010 MacBook Air, which gave the 11-inch model a whopping two extra hours of battery life. Since Google released Android version 2.2 (Froyo), many Android-powered smartphones have supported Flash. But some say Android’s Flash-capabilities are wanting.

And Android isn’t the only OS running Flash poorly. The QNX-powered BlackBerry PlayBook operating system was hyped to boast the best Flash support before its release, but Wired.com found running Flash games and sites spotty at best on the PlayBook. Similarly, the Android-powered Motorola Xoom has struggled with Flash, debuting only with a beta version of Adobe’s product that was much maligned.

“I actually find Flash on Android to be quite cumbersome,” said Michael Novak, a developer for group messaging app GroupMe, in an interview. “I would like to see Android move away from Flash support and adopt more HTML5 video options. The large run-time required by Flash is disappointing.”

Novak feels it will be a hard battle to fight though, as much of the publishing interesting are very supportive of Adobe products.

HTML5 has come to be the de facto alternative for functions that previously required Adobe Flash. For instance with video, back-end system Brightcove now uses HTML5 to deliver streaming video to devices like the iPad. Many see the move of video services in particular toward HTML5 as the “kiss of death” for Flash. As of March, 63% of web video is now HTML 5 compatible, an indication of the growing shift away from Flash.

Although Flash is losing steam, Adobe is not, even with regards to its waning product. Adobe has outed its own Flash to HTML5 conversion tool, called Wallaby, which is a free AIR application¹. Adobe’s AIR platform allows developers to use Flash and other tools to develop standalone web apps for mobile devices.

Note 1. The original version of this story incorrectly stated that Edge was Adobe’s Flash to HTML5 conversion tool. Edge is an HTML5 web motion and interaction design tool. Updated 9/16/2011 at 11:59 AM PST.

If you haven’t heard about the Samsung Galaxy S II by now, you’re definitely tardy to the party. But as the proverbial saying goes, it’s better late than never, right? The Galaxy S, its predecessor with myriad chassis selections and carrier variants, is still selling like hotcakes all over the world, and the sequel is no lightweight (figuratively) either — selling three million units in 55 days only seems to be rivaled by a company based out of Cupertino — and for good reason. We gave the unlocked version high marks for its excellent performance, gorgeous display and top-of-the-line camera, so it was only natural that we’d spend the next four months wondering when we’d see the powerhouse make it Stateside.

Don’t get us wrong — we’ve seen our fair share of unlocked Galaxy S II devices proudly shown off in the US (most of them from our own editors, admittedly) because it’s already available at full retail (roughly $650-700) from multiple vendors. However, the Samsung Epic 4G Touch is the first to be offered at a subsidized cost in return for a two-year commitment, and it won’t be the last as AT&T and T-Mobile pull up the rear with their own styles of the same handset. So how does the landmark phone stand up to not only the test of time but several carrier-specific design changes? Are Sprint customers getting a “tainted” version of Sammy’s flagship Android device? These questions have been pondered for months, and we finally have the answers if you keep on reading.

Continue reading Samsung Epic 4G Touch review

Samsung Epic 4G Touch review originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Sep 2011 17:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We got our paws on the two upcoming Archos Android 3.2 tablets the other week at IFA — and now it seems that you’ll be able to follow suit in the near future, with pre-sale beginning September 20th. The Archos eight-inch G9 starts at $299 for the 1GHz 8GB version, going all the way up to $369 for a 1.5GHz processor and a whopping 250GB of storage. The 10-incher has a 1.5GHz processor and 16GB of storage for $399 or you can plunk down $469 for the 250GB version. The 1GHz 80 G9 starts pre-sale on September 20th through Archos and goes on sale at select retailers on the 30th. Its 1.5GHz counterpart will be hitting in October. Press info is after the break.

Continue reading Archos G9 tablets doing the pre-sale thing September 20th

Archos G9 tablets doing the pre-sale thing September 20th originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Sep 2011 12:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google Googles‘ powers of perception have become a little more perspicacious, thanks to a new update for Android users. With version 1.6, tourists can use their smartphones to take a picture of a given area, while Google’s visual search app works in the background to identify any notable landmarks, paintings or other objects. If it picks up on anything of interest, it’ll automatically notify the user, instantly endowing him or her with gooey chunks of knowledge. It seems like a pretty user-friendly refresh, though things will really get interesting if faces ever get involved. Hit up the source link below to download the update for yourself.

Google Goggles Android update makes your vacation photos slightly more interesting originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Sep 2011 08:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’re raising our glasses to the original Galapagos e-reader this morning, because Sharp has decided to discontinue it. Today, the manufacture announced that it will stop taking orders for its 5.5- and 10.8-inch Android tablets on September 30th, just nine months after they first launched. A company spokeswoman, however, confirmed that Sharp isn’t leaving the market altogether, as it plans to continue churning out the 7-inch A01SH that launched last month. The Japan-based firm is confident that “the market for electronic books will continue to expand,” but decided to terminate its older slates because they’ve already “fulfilled the purposes that they were designed for.” Sharp declined to disclose sales figures for the doomed devices, though local media outlets are reporting that they may have been squeezed out of the Japanese market by the iPad — a decidedly Darwinian explanation.

Sharp to discontinue original Galapagos e-readers, 7-inch species survives originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Sep 2011 04:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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