Is there ANY WAY POSSIBLE for iPad to play flash?

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I just got an iPad 2 and I am really starting to feel the pain of not having flash. I constantly think about that PlayBook commercial where they are rubbing in our faces that it has "Flash!...Aahhhh!"

I searched the Appstore to see if maybe there was some kind of add-on or something but I don't seem to have any luck.
 

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What you're looking for is Skyfire. Some around here have used it so I'll let them chime in about the quality.
 
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If you jailbreak, there's an application called Frash that will enable Flash playback within Safari.
 
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chas_m

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1. Wow, really? I haven't missed it at all. Particularly not the annoying animated ads. Nope, haven't missed that a bit. What specifically are you needing Flash for?

2. Skyfire, meh. Take a look at iSwifter.
 
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I just tried iSwifter as suggested, and it worked great. There is one website that I have to go to for work that is Flash based. iSwifter took care of things for me.
 
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chas_m

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fd:

I see what you mean, but there is absolutely nothing on that site that they couldn't be doing easily *and more compatibly* with HTML5. There are HOW many iPhones, iPod Touches and iPads out there?? Seems to me they are losing a LOT of potential business.

Someone should really drop them a note to explain the reality of 2011 to them. I don't mean they should drop Flash (though they should probably consider it) -- I mean they should also offer an HTML5 version of the site at the very least.
 

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Flash-based websites like C. S. Bronner Books.

??? There is nothing on that web site except to tell you if you want to buy the only ebook thus far written by this author to go to the iBookstore (huh, what do you know, they are aware of the iDevices) or the Kindle book store to buy it.
 
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1. Wow, really? I haven't missed it at all. Particularly not the annoying animated ads. Nope, haven't missed that a bit. What specifically are you needing Flash for?

I completely agree. I even have Flash turned off on my MBP with an extension called Click To Flash. It's refreshing not to have those distracting ads show up when I'm on a website. Those things are a sensory overload.
 
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fd:

I see what you mean, but there is absolutely nothing on that site that they couldn't be doing easily *and more compatibly* with HTML5. There are HOW many iPhones, iPod Touches and iPads out there?? Seems to me they are losing a LOT of potential business.

Someone should really drop them a note to explain the reality of 2011 to them. I don't mean they should drop Flash (though they should probably consider it) -- I mean they should also offer an HTML5 version of the site at the very least.

This is exactly the reason why I made sure the website for my family business was not made with Flash, like many of our competitors have been doing because Flash sites are cheaper to have made. We did this way back in 2008 as I knew Flash is annoying and unavailable on many mobile devices. Many of our customers love that our website works on their phones unlike those of our competitors.
 
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I'm shopping for a new truck right now, and just about everything on every automakers' website is Flash. It has been irritating to have no ability to view the content on my iP4.
 
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I'm shopping for a new truck right now, and just about everything on every automakers' website is Flash. It has been irritating to have no ability to view the content on my iP4.

I've noticed that too. You'd think the automakers, if anyone, would want to ensure that their sites can be viewable on the latest, hottest devices. It absolutely confounds me that they have yet to get with it.
 
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chas_m

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I forgot to mention in my previous post that although iOS devices don't support Flash, if you want to find out WHY ... try running Flash on mobile devices that DO claim to support it!

We just got through testing a bunch of them -- and the word "sucks" and another word meaning "bottom" were used VERY LIBERALLY in our testing. Flash RUNS -- more like "strolls idly by" on some phones and tablets, but never EVER *runs* as in performs *anything* like a desktop. Oh, and did I mention it heats up devices like a sauna, kills battery life and causes crashes?

Flash is still at this point a MISERABLE mobile experience, even on devices where it is claimed to run well. At best I'd call it mediocre, with a lot of system "baggage" that is unacceptable in a work environment. Maybe in another year or two Adobe will have worked out the problems, but I'm not gonna hold my breath. Steve was, ultimately, right about them, and about Flash.

I might add that some of the devices we tested had processors more powerful than the iPhone 4 or the iPad -- at least on paper -- and they ALL struggled with Flash. That tells you the whole story right there.
 
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to get around it i used a remote desktop app. i log into my desktop and start safari and surf from there. all flash works and is streamed to the ipad.
 
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Revisiting the age-old topic - Flash on an iPhone or iPad - with a relatively new app

I tried iswifter but it seems you have to buy stuff in-app to make anything work. I'd like to hear a better review of anyone that has bought any in-app purchases to see if it is worth it. When I tried the demo - I was never fast enough to get anywhere before it dumped me back to the intro screen.

I grabbed skyfire for the iPhone and it seems to work pretty well for flash video. It seems to have problems rendering flash sites. Mountain bike makers - Kona and Santa Cruz - both use flash for their sites and it seems to render the Santa Cruz site poorly. It also doesn't seem to handle the Oakley site either.
KONAWORLD
Santa Cruz Bicycles
Sunglasses, Goggles, and Apparel - Oakley Official Site.
But trying to watch flash video like from contour.com worked OK
Contour | GPS Video Camera, HD Helmet Camera, and Video Community
Unfortunately it isn't universal so you'd have to buy it for the iPhone and the iPad.

I have also tried out Puffin.
App Store - Puffin Web Browser
Seems to render Santa Cruz correctly but when I tried flash video from contour the app crashed on the iPhone. It is universal. It does seem to render the above sites better - but as stated before - flash isn't really optimized for a touch interface. For example - the Oakley custom sunglass builder expects some kind of scroll wheel or click and hold mouse ability to move through the flash choices - there is no way to do that on an iOS device.

Anyway - in a pinch - you can use Skyfire to watch flash video on your iOS device, and Puffin to actually go look at full flash websites. Niether are fast and you may run into interface issues but I believe that is more of flash expecting a mouse/keyboard instead of a touchscreen.

And I agree - in a perfect world everyone would already be at html5 and I wouldn't have to kill my battery using Flash - but for now the combination of Puffin and Skyfire cover most of my needs for Flash on an iOS device.
 
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Is it obligatory that you jailbreak your iPhone before you can use one of these flash applications?

I am not a fan of jailbreaking...
 
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No Puffin, Skyfire, iSwifter are all official App Store approved apps.
 

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