So if you’re an active FlashLite or Flash developer who keeps an eye on the mobile space, you may have noticed something that happened last month with one of the web’s largest Flash delivery site: YouTube. The change was around the mechanism they used for version detection, and draws attention back to a topic close to the heart of every mobile developer (flash or otherwise): user-agent detection.
Not wanting to re-invent the wheel here (and there not being any purpose for it), I’d like to remind folks of the value of using the existing resource and instructions for detection out there. While the definitive word on Flash Version Detection comes directly from Adobe, the goods from the blog over at BitTube provide even a bit more detail on how to better handle mobile specific user agents.
All of this is all fine and good if you’re going to go out and actually build mobile specific content, or author directly for some version of FlashLite, but what happened the other week highlights some thing slightly broader and plays back into the notion of ‘OneWeb.’
The goals around FlashLite 3.x are largely around web browseability and better support for FLV content out there on the web. The idea being opening up a wider array of existing web content to the broader world. This is an admirable goal, but there’s one problem here: upgradeability.
A point of pride for the folks over here at Adobe is the ability to effectively and rapidly upgrade the platform that Flash provides out on the web. In fact, the numbers given for the upgrade from Flash Player 9 to Flash Player 9 R3 (.115 or .124) show that over 80% of the web upgraded in a 6 month time period This upgrade is driven not actually by Adobe, but by the content and application developers themselves using content that leverages the new features and bundling the upgrade path into their apps (via the Detection/Upgrade kit above). If only it were this easy for mobile, but as we all know mobile developers are often at the mercy of the OEMs for what version of Flash (or any other technology for that matter) finds its way onto devices.
So, back to what happened with YouTube and some advice for those of you who have Flash content out there. When they upgraded, their scripts looked for a Flash Major version of 9. However, their code was constructed in such a way that it would work even if an older version of the FlashPlayer were present. Their site still worked fine for desktop browsers still stuck on the Flash Player v8, and even those devices running the FlashSDK 7 (such as the PSP or Nintendo Wii to name a couple). The problem came to bear only on FlashLite 3.0.x devices, wherein the version detection in the player adheres very strictly to convention. Instead of just taking a stab at playing the content and letting the user experience what they may (which was actually fully functional content on the older players) the 3.0.x player gave up and displayed the Flash9 icon, indicating to the user that they must upgrade if they wanted to play the content. But oh yes, we’re in mobile land, and the user can’t upgrade even if they wanted to, sigh.
So what can you do today?
- Well, first of all, as Adobe suggests, do not require a Flash version higher than you really need.
- Secondly, if it is practical for your site and your purposes, investigate delivering a FlashLite specific version of your content.
- Lastly, make sure that your code does not include logic that demands a specific Flash version so the FlashLite Player will at least make a stab at playing your swf, even if it’s not going to completely render everything, at least it will give it a go.
It’s a tough call. One one hand you should very much be able to take advantage of the latest and greatest Flash features out there, and jump all over the coolness to be found in ActionScript 3, but in doing so, remember to not shut the door on the mobile world where we’re still coming around the corner on versions 8 and 9, and support for AS3 is out there a ways still. If you can get away with it, make sure that your “Publish Settings” on Flash CS3 are set to Flash Player 8 and you should be good to go! Of course as with all things time will drive change and adoption of future versions. In fact, Flash Player 10 is just around the corner, but is available in beta from Adobe Labs
Enjoy!
Ron
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