No Flash? No Problem: 3 Work-Arounds for iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch Users

Apple’s iPads, iPhones and iPod Touch devices all run numerous business and entertainment applications, with iPads and iPhones viewed increasingly as seriously useful business tools. Meanwhile, Adobe’s Flash technologies are also enjoying increasing adoption among business users, especially those attempting to deliver compelling and engaging online experiences to customers, partners and prospects.

However, while Apple desktop and laptop computers support Flash-based content well, continuing disputes between the vendors have so far made Flash unavailable for Apple’s newest and most popular devices. This has engendered much contention in online reports and discussion forums. However, the entire issue may be more smoke than fire, given available and evolving alternatives.

Search beyond a Web site’s home page. Often, search engine results will include direct links to other pages at a company Web site – to pages devoted to “Products” or “About Us” information, for example. Such links frequently bypass the home page, where much Flash deployment is often concentrated. You may be able to navigate to where you want or need to be despite a lack of Flash via such links.

Try the “mobile” version of your desired Web site. Sometimes, mobile versions of Web sites minimize use of technologies such as Flash, for faster loading onto smaller screens or less powerful mobile devices. If you don’t know if a site is available in a mobile version, try typing “m.” or “mobile.” Between the “www.” and the “domainname.com/org/net/etc.” parts of the site name. Or access the site from a mobile device and see if the resulting site address is different from the one that appears when the site is accessed from a full-blown computer.

VERY CAREFULLY consider using a non-authorized third-party solution. There is an Adobe-authorized version of Flash that runs on Google’s Android operating system. That Flash implementation has been re-ported to the latest version of iOS operating system that runs the Apple iPad and latest iPhones, according to reputable online news sources.

The non-Adobe, non-Apple, non-authorized software, known colloquially as “Frash,” requires users to “jailbreak” their iPads, which voids Apple warranties, and does not yet stream Flash videos. However, it does demonstrate that Flash-compatible content can be run on Apple devices other than its full-blown computers. If you really, really need to access Flash content from such Apple devices, this option may be worth considering, but only if your needs are business-critical.

It seems almost unthinkable that the marketplace will allow the gulf between Apple devices and Flash-based content to go on indefinitely. More likely, some combination of pressure by customers and partners on Adobe and Apple and technological evolution will render current discussions moot. Until that happens, however, the above alternatives provide options to users who can’t or won’t just sit back and wait for Adobe and Apple to resolve their differences – as petty and unnecessary as those differences may look from outside both companies.