Macromedia is now offering the Flash Lite 1.1 Player for download! Before today Flash Lite had to come pre-installed on a users handset. But it is now possible for users to purchase the Flash Player for Mobile phones. Wait, did I just say purchase?


Thats right for the first time ever Macromedia is now selling the Flash Player, or a "profile" of it. True the Flash Player for mobile devices, Pocket PCs, was and still is being sold. But with that you weren't really purchasing the player, but the ability to create and distribute applications with it. With the Flash Lite 1.1 Player you only getting the player itself. Users will still have to have purchase and install the player on their phone to take advantage of the content you create.

Because of this I am having mixed feelings. On one hand I am very happy to see the Flash Lite 1.1 Player released. I was never that happy with the original model of distributing the player. Requiring device manufactures to "build" it into the phone, or mobile carriers to provide it to their subscribers. So on this respect I see it being a great thing. It makes it much easier for users to get the player on their phone, and this providing us with a broader audience to develop applications for. But on the other hand I am concerned that a player we have always known and thought of as being FREE now has a price tag. Will users be willing to pay $10 for a player to play other applications they may possibly have to pay for?

Also what does this say for future versions of the Flash Player itself? Do I think that the web version will eventually have a price? No I doubt it, but it does make me wonder. Also will device manufactures or mobile provides be as willing to licenses the player directly from Macromedia if it is now something they can pawn off on the user to get themselves if they want it.

For the most part though I think this is a good thing. It increases the user base for Flash Lite 1.1 applications. It helps with the forward momentum of mobile devices in general. And it gives me a stronger selling point to get people excited about the Flash Lite 1.1 player, but did I really need that anyway?