Apple released a new draft of their iPhone developer program license, and it contained the following clause:
3.3.1 — Applications may only use Documented APIs in the manner prescribed by Apple and must not use or call any private APIs. Applications must be originally written in Objective-C, C, C++, or JavaScript as executed by the iPhone OS WebKit engine, and only code written in C, C++, and Objective-C may compile and directly link against the Documented APIs (e.g., Applications that link to Documented APIs through an intermediary translation or compatibility layer or tool are prohibited).
The thing is, Adobe has been, for a time, trying to find a way to bring Flash or at least Flash-based apps to the iPhone. In fact, Adobe has proved that there is no technical reason that Flash can’t run on the iPhone, and that developers can create well performing and compelling content for the device with Flash.
Mike Chambers says that Apple’s new developer program license “has the effect of restricting applications built with a number of technologies, including Unity, Titanium, MonoTouch, and Flash CS5. While it appears that Apple may selectively enforce the terms, it is our belief that Apple will enforce those terms as they apply to content created with Flash CS5. Developers should be prepared for Apple to remove existing content and applications (100+ on the store today) created with Flash CS5 from the iTunes store.”
However, they feel that it’s not a total loss. There’s Android, which has been doing well because of the Droid and the Nexus One, plus the fact that Android-based tablets are just around the corner, which everyone who would like a tablet PC but don’t give a damn about the iPad (like me) are excited for. This is going to be interesting.
[via]