Last year Adobe announced it was stopping development of Flash for mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets.
The company has now removed the option to install the plug-in because of concerns about stability when used with the latest version of Android (Jelly Bean).
News of Flash’s demise was widely see as vindication of Apple’s decision not to include the plug-in in its iPhone and iPad products.
When Apple first unveiled the iPad, many commentators were sceptical that consumers would buy a device which could not access Flash content.
Apple co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs defended the absence of Flash, saying it “has not performed well on mobile devices. We have routinely asked Adobe to show us Flash performing well on a mobile device, any mobile device, for a few years now. We have never seen it.”
Apple instead encouraged developers and content users to adapt a new version of HTML, the language which powers website, called HTML5 which allows videos and other content to be played.
Despite this, Google and Blackberry makers RIM worked with Adobe to introduce Flash to their mobile devices in the hope of differentiating them from Apple’s products.
Although both companies highlighted the availability of Flash, performance was often poor and not all content could be accessed.
According to the BBC’s website, the corportation is “working with Adobe on an alternative video player for Android, ensuring audiences with Android devices continue to enjoy BBC iPlayer.”
Daniel Danker, general manager of On-Demand at the BBC, commented: “We do have concerns about fragmentation of Android devices and new updates to the Android platform, which have created an inconsistent video playback experience for our audience, and we are working with Google to find ways to address this.”
