Alert: Android tablet buyers wanting to use Adobe Flash.

One of the benefits of Android tablets I see promoted on television is the ability to view Adobe Flash content. Many sites are designed using Flash to display high quality images. One example of such a site is the Monkey Mia site where a serious of pictures are displayed showing the beautiful scenery at Monkey Mia.

The Apple iPad, iPhone and Touch devices don’t support Flash and that was Apple’s design decision, but Android tablet devices are being promoted on TV as supporting Flash. The problem is the Android 3.2 operating system used on tablets does support Flash, but if you upgrade to Android 4 you’ll lose Flash support. Adobe have stated they’re no longer supporting Flash on mobile devices.

If you’re considering buying an Android tablet because it supports Flash then you should reconsider. I’ve now upgraded my Acer tablet from Android 3.2 to Android 4. Previously I was able to view the Flash content on pages and now I can’t. Others will have the same experience.

I found Android 3.2 to be quite a flaky operating system and Android 4 is a significant improvement. In fact I found Android 3.2 to be so bad I really couldn’t be bothered using the Acer tablet. I waited until Android 4 was available and upgraded as soon as I could and the tablet has now become useful. I still find Android 4 to be flaky at times, but at least now the tablet gets some use.

To me it is a real shame Adobe are no longer supporting Flash on mobile devices and in particular tablets. The cost to businesses to develop their Flash based sites in many cases would have been thousands of dollars. Now if site owners want mobile users to view their sites, the businesses will need to have their sites redeveloped at considerable cost.

If you’re considering a tablet and Flash support is part of that consideration, then you should factor in that Flash support most likely won’t be available.

Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for computer support.
Servicing Templestowe, Doncaster, Eltham and surrounding areas.