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iPad Promotional Video and Images Show Properly-Displayed Flash Content

Friday January 29, 2010 6:53 am PST by Eric Slivka
One of the major complaints so far about Apple's new iPad tablet device has been a lack of support for Flash content, a limitation also placed on the iPhone. At several points during Apple CEO Steve Jobs' demonstration of the iPad at Wednesday's media event, the device displayed a "broken plug-in" icon on Web pages such as The New York Times where Flash elements were included on the page.


Screenshot from iPad media event presentation

9 to 5 Mac noticed that demonstrations of Web browsing in Apple's iPad promotional video reveal properly loading Flash content on similar Web pages, suggesting either that the iPad device used in the video supports Flash or that Apple has manipulated the promotional video in order to hide the fact that the iPad does not support Flash.


iPad promotional video showing Flash content (9 to 5 Mac)

AppleInsider followed up with a similar analysis also showing a promotional image of the iPad on Apple's site displaying Flash content from The New York Times. The newspaper's The 31 Places to Go in 2010 feature includes a Flash-based slideshow that displays properly on a Mac and in the iPad promotional rendering, but not on an iPhone, which lacks Flash capabilities as the iPad did during Wednesday's presentation and in the media hands-on that followed.


Portion of Apple iPad promotional image showing Flash content
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Consultant
27 months ago
wasn't something similar done to the iPhone promos?
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iParis
27 months ago
Ah we can only hope! Along with a camera. I guess the only thing we can do now is wait.
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axboi87
27 months ago
Perhaps Apple was worked with the New York Times and other major sites for custom iPad versions of their sites that use an alternative to flash such as HTML5.
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jaysedai
27 months ago
Eh... with HTML 5 coming and H.264 video, there won't be much point to Flash in the future. So I'm okay if they keep it standards based.
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PeterQVenkman
27 months ago
It's just promo art. Adobe commented on the lack of flash in the iPad the other day:

http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/28/adobe-on-flash-and-the-ipad-apple-is-continuing-to-impose-rest/

It looks like Apple is continuing to impose restrictions on their devices that limit both content publishers and consumers. Unlike many other ebook readers using the ePub file format, consumers will not be able to access ePub content with Apple's DRM technology on devices made by other manufacturers. And without Flash support, iPad users will not be able to access the full range of web content, including over 70% of games and 75% of video on the web.

If I want to use the iPad to connect to Disney, Hulu, Miniclip, Farmville, ESPN, Kongregate, or JibJab -- not to mention the millions of other sites on the web -- I'll be out of luck.

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mac 2005
27 months ago
Shouldn't somebody contact Apple and ask?
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RyanR.
27 months ago
if it has flash.....I might get one!
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ajones46
27 months ago
Yeah I definitely have a feeling this is similar to 'Screen images simulated' at the bottom of the iPhone commercials.
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macnchiefs
27 months ago
It's gotta be in 4.0 thats coming out this summer. If it's not and they doctored those images.... not good
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retroneo
27 months ago

wasn't something similar done to the iPhone promos?


Yes, pretty much same article in 2008 with the iPhone...

http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-19512_7-10115570-233.html
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