If you like having an app store on your phone, you’re in luck, because you could soon have one on your TV as well.
Adobe has released a new version of
If you like having an app store on your phone, you’re in luck, because you could soon have one on your TV as well.
Adobe has released a new version of
The new version of AIR also has content protection options — a necessity if Adobe is going to convince the Hollywood players to build apps for streaming and purchasing HD movies, concerts and TV shows.
The AIR platform is one of Adobe’s strategies to get developers to use its software to create apps for mobiles and tablets. The company also makes Packager for iPhone, which lets developers build something using Adobe’s tools, then compile it into a format allowed by Apple’s App Store. This is the same packaging tool that Apple outlawed earlier this year, though the company has since rescinded its ban.
AIR 2.5 is being unveiled at Adobe’s MAX developer conference Monday. The announcement isn’t all about TVs — there are also some new support for Android devices in this latest release.
Any developer building a mobile app in AIR can now package their app for sale in the Android Market. This should also be a boon for developers eager to build an app for Google TV, which runs Android.
Adobe also says it is working with device makers to pre-install AIR on new Android phones, making the process of installing AIR-based apps as painless as possible for consumers.
The other big news in Adobe’s Monday announcement is the launch of InMarket, an app warehouse where developers can submit their creations to multiple app stores at once.
InMarket will be a portal of sorts. A developer submits their app to the central server, and Adobe packages that app for each store that allows the sale of AIR apps. The same app can be morphed to run on Android phones, tablets, televisions and, of course, desktop PCs. Adobe handles all of the packaging, distribution and billing, and takes a 30 percent cut of the sale price for its trouble.
For more about the future of app warehouses, check out our interview with Linux Foundation executive director Jim Zemlin, who predicted this shift in the app store economy.
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Authors: Michael Calore