Adobe has updated Flash Builder 4.5 and Flex 4.5 in a move that the company hopes will encourage developers to use both technologies to build applications for iPhone, iPad, and BlackBerry PlayBook.
Flex 4.5 now includes developer productivity enhancements — using best practice code templates, code completion, and code generation features in Flash Builder 4.5. Adobe says that developers can accelerate the creation of Flex and ActionScript applications and deploy them using Adobe AIR software.
After support for Android devices was released in April 2011, Adobe is now seeking to create the impression of a single platform with Flash Builder 4.5 for building what it describes as "highly expressive" mobile applications that can be distributed via the Android Market, Apple App Store, and BlackBerry App World.
"With consumers increasingly engaging with more content on smartphones and tablets, large enterprises are required to add mobile applications as a core part of their marketing strategy. Simultaneously, IT organizations are looking to build business process, CRM, and other employee productivity applications to support the broad range of devices and platforms in use today," said Ed Rowe, vice president of developer tooling, Adobe.
"Using Flash Builder and Flex, enterprises can now use one tool, one framework, and one codebase to create high-performance applications that run on desktops as well as on smartphones and tablets," he added.
Adobe points out that a selection of applications built with Flash Builder and Flex have already been published to the Android Market, Apple App Store, and BlackBerry App World.
Following are a sample of those created for Android, BlackBerry Tablet OS, and iOS using Flash Builder 4.5 and Flex 4.5, leveraging existing code and logic to deploy to leading mobile platforms:
- Conqu is an easy-to-use yet powerful task management tool designed to help conquer an email inbox and get things done.
- Mr. Mixit is a spin-based matching game where users must frantically mix record labels against the clock.
- Muni Tracker tracks San Francisco Muni locations and arrival time predictions on a map updating live every 10 seconds. Favorite transit stops and lines can also be bookmarked for easy access.
- Netflix Queue Manager lets users browse, search, and manage their Netflix Queue on the go. New features include viewing queues, updating queues, and adding/removing/viewing movies.
- PolitiFact Mobile App helps you find the truth in politics, with features including the Truth Index, Truth-O-Meter, and Flip-O-Meter. PolitiFact.com is the fact-checking website of the St. Petersburg Times and received a Pulitzer Prize in 2009.
- Pyramix is an easy-to-learn, highly addictive word game that combines the strategy of Cryptoquote with the simplicity of Boggle.
