The day that many Flash Developers/Designers have been waiting for is finally approaching. Well…not quite exactly. Earlier this week at Adobe Max 2009, Adobe provided a sneek-peek to some of the new features that Flash CS5 will be shipping with. The one feature that is getting many excited(and for good reason) is the ability to export your Flash applications into Apple iPhone applications.
Export to iPhone
Flash Professional CS5 will allow you to set your publish settings to “iPhone”. This will compile your movie as a native iPhone application that can be submitted to the Apple AppStore.
A New Door Has Opened
This opens a whole new door for Flash Developers/Designers. The ability to get your content displayed to an already trendmously large iPhone user base. Hey, if this is the compromise of not having a Flash Player based within Safari on the iPhone, then I can definitely live with that. Quite honestly, this might turn out to be even a better solution.
Additonal New Features Shipping With Flash CS5
Along with being able to create iPhone applications, Flash CS5 provides some other sorely needed features like:
Improved ActionScript editor
Code Snippets panel
Flash Builder integration
XML based FLA files
Resources:
Article: Developing for the Apple iPhone using Flash
Aditya Bansodof of Adobe breaks down how this all came about. He gives a breakdown on the technology behind this conversion and how to go about creating/submitting a Flash generated iPhone application.
Video: Building Applications For iPhone With Flash Professional CS5
Learn how Adobe is working to bring Adobe technologies out of the desktop and onto a the iPhone. Learn how Flash Professional and the Flash platform will add capabilities to help developers iPhone enable, test, and publish their content.
Current Flash Apps Already Available via the Apple App Store
For more additional resources and an update on release of Flash CS5, check out Flash CS5 on Adobe Labs. Also, Flash CS5 beta is expected to be released prior to year’s end so be sure to sign up to get notified when that does happen.
Ever since Joe Johnston spawned the idea of creating an iPhone for your desktop, I was amazed on how well he kept the look and feel of the application. If you own or have ever used an iPhone, there is just nothing that feels like it and the AIR iPhone comes pretty close.
One big feature of the AIR iPhone is the ability of using Ribbit to make and receive phone calls. Joe recently added a calling notification feature which makes the use of this app just that much cooler. When the AIR iPhone is minimized the calling notification window will appear when you receive a incoming call.
Check out this quick video demoing this new feature:
Haven’t downloaded AIR iPhone yet? Download it here!
While Flash might not yet be available on the iPhone, news of new iPhone apps have been making its way into the Flash community. Mike Chamber has just released a handy way to reference the AS3 library with his new iPhone app called ActionScript 3 API Reference.
The ActionScript 3 API Reference is a free iPhone application that provides a quick and convenient method for accessing the ActionScript 3 API class reference documentation. There’s nothing like having the knowledge of AS3 in the palms of your hand…literally.
Watch out for the Falling Balls! As of late, Keith Peters has been getting himself into iPhone app development and one of his apps, Falling Balls, is hitting it “main stream”. Falling Balls is a free iPhone app with the concept being to avoid falling balls or you would be put to harsh death.
A very simple concept, but I admit it is a little addictive. I am sure many of its users might feel the same way as it is already the number 1 free app currently available. If you haven’t already, download it for your iPhone and give it a test run.
Imagine, a fully-functional iPhone on your desktop that enables users to make calls, take calls and capture voice messages on their computer. Well, now most of that can now be achieved. Joe Johnston has created the AIR iPhone, a desktop application created with Adobe AIR and Adobe Flex 3.
AIR iPhone basically simulates the UI of the iPhone. It has the capabilities to make calls, receive calls, check voicemail, add contacts and even send voice messages, all using Ribbit. If your not familiar with Ribbit, the Ribbit Developer Platform gives developers the ability to make and receive calls, record, send and receive voice messages, as well as add and organize contacts.
Check out this video created by the guys over at Ribbit. It demonstrates the use of this desktop application and how Ribbit has been integrated. Enjoy!
In Your Browser
Well if that wasn’t enough, Joe recently filled users request to put AIR iPhone online within the browser. When compared to the desktop version, everything along with Ribbit works fine except for the weather and browser.
Loving the hype! You can already check out a handful of Flash generated iPhone applications via the Apple App Store. The list of Applications include Chroma Circuit, Trading Stuff, Fickleblox, Just Letters, South Park, That Roach Game, and Red Hood. Enjoy!
