BlackBerry browser getting Flash

 

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Posted on 20 Aug 2009 at 09:17

Reports are suggesting that RIM's next mobile browser will feature support for both Adobe's Flash and Microsoft's Silverlight, as the company looks to leapfrog the competition.

It's fair to say that until now, RIM's browser effort has been considered the weakest of the major smartphone players, with our review of the BlackBerry Storm 9500 noting that the "BlackBerry web browser isn't as responsive or as good at accurately rendering web pages as the Windows Mobile-based Opera Mobile 9.5 or the iPhone's Mobile Safari."

However, reports claim that the company is looking to correct this with full flash support, not the trimmed down effort of Flash Lite.

The inclusion of Silverlight would be considered something of a bonus, and rapidly make the browser one of the most desirable on the market - especially with Apple intractable on its anti-Flash stance and Android remaining enigmatic on future plans.

On the downside, smartphones featuring the browsers aren't expected to arrive before the second half of 2010, hopefully giving network speeds time to beef up to handle the additional content.

We've contacted RIM for additional information and are expecting a firm no comment any hour now.