Russell Beattie

Yes!

I just got this from Mike Krisher's blog:

Nokia and Macromedia today announced a licensing agreement that will integrate Macromedia Flash technology into Series 60 Platform. Series 60 becomes a reference platform for Macromedia's mobile Flash technology, and Macromedia will implement new versions of its mobile Flash technology on Series 60. Nokia has also agreed to support Flash in its other software platforms.

This is *awesome* news which we have been waiting for literally for two years. Very, very cool.

Flash Lite 1.1 still has some issues (like no file support - you can't save state, and the fact that it's based on older Flash 4.0 tech) and that the developer tools are still oriented towards designers not programmers, but still it's a great announcement. From what I've seen of Flash Lite, the applications developed are smaller, more compelling and quicker to program than their J2ME MIDP counterparts. Flash Lite will add another "middle-layer" programming platform to the Series 60/Symbian OS. Python will be great for hackers and maybe corporate developers, Flash will be great for consumer media-based apps. I can't believe it took this long to happen.

This is a great announcement, I can't wait to start seeing the Flash content flow. First thing, Macromedia and/or Nokia needs to make it a one-click option to grab the mobile player from their sites - the press release insinuated as much, and I hope it happens soon. My other wish is for Macromedia to create an IDE for Flash Lite - I can't deal with freakin' timelines. Give me drag/drop controls and a text editor for the Action Script please!

Cool stuff - 3GSM this year is going to rock.

-Russ

Update: You can buy Flash Lite 1.1 for $10 here. Purchased.