iPhone will be able to run some Flash programs

The developer of the widely used Flash programing language has devised a way to translate its code to run on Apple Inc's iPhone -- a move that could dramatically boost the variety of applications for the iPhone.

Programs written with Adobe Systems Inc's Flash programing language currently cannot run on Apple's popular smart phone. Adobe has spent several years trying without success to persuade Apple to make technical changes to the device's software that would make it possible for Flash programs to run on the iPhone.

In the absence of an agreement with Apple, Adobe announced on Monday that it will introduce a tool that lets computer programmers easily convert software applications that they write in the Flash programing language to code that will work on the iPhone.

Flash is designed so that programmers can write one set of code that run on multiple types of computers and mobile devices, including ones using software from Google Inc, Microsoft Corp, Nokia and Palm Inc.

The iPhone has been the only major handset provider that has declined to collaborate with Adobe.

The new option that Adobe announced on Monday will allow developers to create a second piece of software that they can distribute through Apple's App store.

"It's basically an export capability," said Adrian Ludwig, a manager with Adobe's Flash group.

He said in an interview that Apple has yet to agree to work with Adobe to clear two key technical hurdles that would enable Flash applications to run on the iPhone.

"The ball is in their court at this point. We've been very blunt about what we need and what we are requesting," Ludwig said in an interview.

A spokesman for Apple could not be reached for comment.

Adobe said in a press release that it will release a public trial version of the tool for converting Flash programs into ones that will run on the iPhone later this year.

Palm to release cheaper sibling of Pre smart phone

Palm Inc., which revitalized its product line with the Pre smart phone launch in June, is hoping to keep momentum going with the release of a lighter, cheaper handset called the Pixi.

The company said Wednesday that the Pixi will be available during the holiday season in the U.S. through Sprint Nextel Corp., currently the Pre's exclusive wireless carrier.

Sunnyvale, California-based Palm would not divulge the Pixi's price tag, but confirmed it will be less than that of its big brother. Sprint dropped the Pre's price by $50 to $150 on Wednesday, including two rebates and a two-year service contract.

"The combination of announcing a new device and changing the price on the Pre show we're aggressively pursuing new customers to get them accessing the WebOS experience," Katie Mitic, Palm's senior vice president of product marketing, said in an interview Tuesday.

The Pixi's release will mark Palm's second attempt in less than a year to use new software and streamlined designs to lure consumers in the still small but fast-growing smart phone market, which is dominated by Apple Inc.'s iPhone and Research In Motion Ltd.'s BlackBerry devices. According to market research firm NPD Group, smart phones made up 28 percent of consumer cell phone purchases in the second quarter, up 47 percent from the same period last year.

Palm hasn't disclosed the number of Pre smart phones sold. But its stock has more than quadrupled since the company unveiled the device Jan. 8 at the Consumer Electronics Show.

Like the Pre, the black, shiny Pixi will come with a touch-screen, full QWERTY keyboard and Palm's latest operating system, WebOS. It will also have 8 gigabytes of built-in memory. But while the Pre's keyboard slides out from the bottom of the device, the Pixi's slightly smaller screen and keyboard both fit on the face of the candy bar-style handset.

The new smart phone is longer and slimmer than the Pre, and, at nearly 3.5 ounces, lighter. It trades the Pre's center button for a tiny touch-sensitive bar that sits between the screen and keyboard. As on the Pre, the real estate between the screen and keyboard also will be touch-sensitive for navigating the device.

The Pixi will sport a 2-megapixel camera, instead of its sibling's 3-megapixel version, and two small speakers rather than the Pre's single large one.

Building on an already available WebOS feature, the Pixi will be able to gather users' contacts from Yahoo and business-networking site LinkedIn. The Pixi will include standard smart phone features like Global Positioning System, video and music players and a Web browser, but it won't have Wi-Fi.

A dedicated Facebook application will be released with the Pixi, Palm said. It is not yet clear if it will come loaded on the phone or will be available through Palm's online application store.

Nokia strikes back against 'smart' rivals

Faced with increased competition from up-and-coming rivals, Finnish telecom giant Nokia plans to launch a slew of new products this year but analysts say it faces a tough battle to hold on to its position as the world's number one mobile phone manufacturer.

To fight back against Apple's iPhone and RIM's Blackberry, Nokia announced plans to launch three new smartphones with touch screens, a portable notebook PC, and will tie up with Microsoft to use its popular Office software on its handsets.

Industry observers criticized the Finnish giant for its aging product lineup and for not bringing smartphones to market quickly enough to take on their up-and-coming rivals.

Analysts interviewed by AFP agreed that Nokia had not yet found a product to challenge the iPhone as most new Nokia devices use an outdated operating system to drive their phones.

"It is going to be 2011 before they have the right software to make a really competitive product," Richard Windsor, a London-based technology analyst for Nomura Securities, told Agence France-Presse.

Its latest smartphone, the N97, has achieved modest sales so far compared to the iPhone.

Technology consultancy Gartner estimates Nokia has sold just 500,000 of them worldwide since its launch in June. Apple's new third-generation iPhone sold one million units in its first weekend on sale.

Nokia needs its new models to be a success -- smartphones, handsets with high-speed internet access, are the fastest growing segment in the mobile phone market and their higher price tags mean they carry higher profit margins than cheaper, more basic models.

The Finnish giant's share of this lucrative segment has ebbed away in recent months. In the second quarter of 2009, it sold 45 percent of all 40 million smartphones sold worldwide.

That compares to 47.4 percent of 32 million handsets at the same time last year, according to Gartner data.

"The right high-end product and an increased focus on services and content are vital for Nokia if it wants to both revamp its brand and please investors," wrote Gartner analyst Carolina Milanesi in a research note to clients.

In addition to its partnership with Microsoft, Nokia will also use Linux software and work with social networking site Facebook to develop new services.

"They have realized that for certain things it makes sense to partner," Ben Wood, research director at CCS Insight, told AFP.

Apple also beat Nokia in drawing in additional revenue from the sale of online applications: ringtones, videos, games and other Internet gadgets.

Its App'Store went online in July 2008 while Nokia's Ovi store launched in May this year.

"Nokia cannot create one killer product to beat Apple or Google. Nokia has to create an experience or a solution that is so compelling that a consumer says 'I like the whole proposition'," said Wood.

Nokia's chief executive Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo told reporters on Wednesday that these add-on services were "critical to our future" and that his company wanted to make smartphones more affordable to a wider range of people.

But that will be a hard sell in the current economic climate.

The global financial crisis has weakened demand for mobile phone sales after six years of uninterrupted growth.

Nokia, which has 1.1 billion customers worldwide, posted a 66-percent drop in net profit in the second quarter of 2009 and a nearly 25-percent decline in revenues on a 12-month basis.

In a bid to restore the company to profitability, a cost-cutting program was launched in January aimed at reducing Nokia's workforce by some 4,000.