Flash, Savour of the Mobile Universe?

Flash technology has created a great opportunity for companies to use handheld devices as marketing tools. Gareth Evans, Director of Technology at start-up company Pocket Marketing,  explains why he believes Flash Lite succeeds where J2ME and WAP have failed in creating a rich mobile experience

Technologies such as J2ME and WAP have presented openings for brands to utilise mobile phones as marketing tools to promote their products, but disappointingly, they have failed to deliver what they had promised to the mobile marketer. However, things have changed thanks to Adobe (formerly Macromedia) with the emergence of Flash Lite player, the cut-down version of Shockwave Flash software built specifically for mobile devices, but with the same advantages as the desktop version.
Launched in February 2003 for mobile provider NTT DoCoMo in Japan, Flash Lite 1.0 provided an easy way to put Flash content on to mass market mobile phones for the first time. Now, some three years on, Flash Lite has shifted from creating basic wallpapers to become a core tool for the mobile content business. Indeed in April 2006, NTT DoCoMo passed the 2 million subscriber mark for its i-channel service, which utilises the Flash Lite player.
Its initial success in Japan over the past three years has resulted in Adobe announcing deals with the top seven handset manufacturers, which will see the current 1.1 version of the player pre-installed onto phones. The recently-launched Nokia 3250, E61 and N91 are the first in a wave of devices shipped with Flash Lite, with the figure. Around 216 million handsets are expected to be shipped with the application by 2010.

The secret of success
So how is Flash Lite going to succeed where others have failed? Firstly let’s look at WAP. WAP has been proved to be slow and difficult to use, and therefore does little to create a desirable experience. J2ME on the other hand is a real contender. It’s powerful, it has an estimated 20,000 developers, it’s got a few years on Flash Lite in the mobile arena, and it’s the de facto standard for games development. On the downside, J2ME has a very fragmented landscape, and a long development cycle, which is where Flash Lite comes into its own, as development times are typically three to five times quicker than using other applications resulting in lower costs.
C++ is another option, but again the process is complex and the development cycle slow, while a further possibility, PYTHON, is currently only available for 60 series devices. Though not all necessarily working within the mobile space, Flash has an estimated 1 million developers, and after nine years, has become a robust, mature development environment. Compared to J2ME, the ability to create dynamic, animated and rich graphics makes Flash Lite the perfect choice for creating sleek designs and superior sophistication for a truly engaging user experience.
Other applications have their place, but for marketing, Flash Lite has a real edge, and opens the door to dynamic multimedia applications and user interfaces. Experience matters, and in the fast moving world of mobile marketing if development times are shorter, then costs are lower, and reaction time is increased.

Ubiquitous application
Adobe is committed to generating the same sort of ubiquity for the Flash Lite player, as it has for the desktop version of the player, which is now available to 98 per cent of online consumers. This is significant for the mobile marketing industry, because at a time when we are constantly exposed to brands everywhere we go, mobile marketing can be a ubiquitous device for the marketing industry, as it adds an interactive dimension that is unparalleled for immediacy. 
But with consumers in the mobile market facing an ever–increasing choice of devices and operator services, the need for handset manufacturers and network operators to deliver compelling user experiences that differentiate their products from those of their competitors is greater than ever. And with mobile advertising set to become a lucrative source of revenue for both network operators and brand owners, the lower costs of Flash Lite means developers can offer content to a wider range of companies that would previously not been able to afford or justify the high development costs associated with mobile content.
With mobile phones continuing to exceed everyone’s expectations and mobile advertising set to launch into the mainstream in 2007, agencies need to realise that they cannot afford to ignore this marketing tool for much longer. The challenge for the marketing industry lies in finding ways to deliver a unique, high quality product quickly and cost-effectively, and for many the answer lies with Flash.

Comments

[Psyche]

Development is truly faster on FlashLite, but performances are also slower... Do not forget that point ! Flash lite is just an alternative for now (But i hope adobe will increase its power !)

[Tom]

Sounds a little bit biased. Sun claim 10 millions of Java developers (compared to the 10 millions of Flash developers), so it's hard to believe that there is "only" 20 000 J2me developers.
Also, C++ is only an option on very few system (basically windows mobile and symbian), just like Python.
Flash have the same issue than C++/Python about deployment then - but I agree development cost for simple app might be lower.

I think the biggest problem that Adobe will face is fragmentation. It will not be possible to upgrade the player, just like on the PC, and it will have to run on much more platforms than one (Windows). So it will be a new problem for them....