Adobe, Apple Continue to Spar Over Flash for iPhone

(MoneyWatch)  Another quarter and another hope that Adobe's Flash will someday make an appearance on Apple's iPhone.

On Adobe's second quarter conference call, CEO Shantanu Narayen was asked about the 3G iPhone and whether Flash will be on the device. Here's what Narayen had to say following Adobe's earnings report:

With respect to the iPhone, we are working on it. We have a version that's working on the emulation. This is still on the computer and you know, we have to continue to move it from a test environment onto the device and continue to make it work. So we are pleased with the internal progress that we've made to date.

A quarter ago, Adobe had to clarify comments Narayen made on the previous conference call.

The upshot: Adobe would really like its Flash to be on the iPhone?€"ideally included. The problem: Apple won't play ball. Next quarter Adobe will toil with Flash some more and try to make it iPhone friendly enough to satisfy Apple.

However, given that Apple is working with SproutCore (see Ryan Stewart's take and Techmeme) it's unlikely this Adobe-Apple standoff, which really revolves around Flash lock-in according to Matt Asay, will be resolved any time soon.

Larry Dignan is Editor in Chief of ZDNet and Editorial Director of ZDNet sister site TechRepublic. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
Credit: ZDNet