Adobe Flash on iPhone: A one-sided coin

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen spoke yet again of the company's continuing interest in porting Flash to the iPhone.

"It's a hard technical challenge, and that's part of the reason Apple and Adobe are collaborating," Narayen said to Bloomberg Television, "The ball is in our court. The onus is on us to deliver."

Nearly one year ago, Narayen made similar remarks in an Adobe earnings call, affirming the company's commitment to bringing Flash to the iPhone, and similarly glossing over the details on exactly how Adobe and Apple are working together. His vague comments warranted a follow-up statement:

"Adobe has evaluated the iPhone SDK and can now start to develop a way to bring Flash Player to the iPhone. However, to bring the full capabilities of Flash to the iPhone Web-browsing experience we do need to work with Apple beyond and above what is available through the SDK and the current license around it."

Narayen's comments were precipitated by Steve Jobs' remarks at an Apple shareholder meeting that there was no version of Flash appropriate for the iPhone. Since that time, it's been a pretty one-sided dialogue in the public forum, and despite the notion that the two companies are collaborating, Narayan's belief that the onus is all Adobe's only serves to reinforce the image of an Apple with its arms folded.