Ed Baig on the new iPad: ‘Still no Adobe Flash’

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Ed Baig for USA Today:

Still no Adobe Flash…

How can this possibly be a drawback? And since Adobe killed mobile Flash last year, how could anyone in their right mind expect any product would support it.



18 thoughts on “Ed Baig on the new iPad: ‘Still no Adobe Flash’”

  4. One reason I hate links to reviews like this is it gives dopes a job. “Look at how many hits my piece got, let me write more!”. Ugh.

  9. I don’t care for flash and it can’t die fast enough for me. However, he does have a valid point. Not to expect Flash, but not having flash is a REAL drawback for many people.

    Personally, I couldn’t care less about flash videos, but it can be so frustrating when I’m trying to find information about some restaurant or hotel while on the road, and I can’t because their site is entirely in flash (and I don’t want to hear that their site should never have been designed without flash in the first place … I just want to be able to access the information I need and that I can access with my laptop).

    There are also a lot of really great learning flash sites for children that I use with my 5 year old daughter, and I wish she could use them on my iPad (its much nicer to study together on the couch rather than at a desk on the computer).

    No web designer in their right mind will be developing new sites in flash, but I expect legacy flash sites to be around for at least the next several years.

    I know that new Android devices won’t have flash either, but laptops do, and a lot of people are trying to decide between an iPad or a laptop. No flash on the iPad is a definite drawback for SOME people.

    p.s. I love my iPad, and have an original iPad, my wife has an iPad 2, and I have an iPad 3 on order. I use my iPad for everything except work (developing software). I’m not sure I want flash on my iPad, but I’m definitely annoyed when I try to visit a site that doesn’t have it.

  10. To be fair, the way I read the article I don’t think Mr. Baig was calling that out: he was mimicking the kinds of reactions that often happen after an Apple announcement, from the kids of reactionaries that put up a fuss about feature lists.

  11. Although, on second reading, he does in fact list it in his “Cons” section. Perhaps because he had to come up with some cons? Anyway, his review reads as extremely positive.

  13. I think it’s fair. I own and love an iPad… use it all the time… and I frequently run into content I can’t access because it’s flash.

    It is frustrating. Maybe a year or two from now, flash will be all but gone from the web and this won’t be an issue… but until that happens, there are some growing pains.

    I understand and accept this reality… I know why it doesn’t have flash… and I agree with the decision… but it is still a downside.

    It’s a valid “con” of using an iPad compared to a lot of other devices.

    When your average non-techie goes to buy something like an iPad, it’s important for them to understand that there are some drawbacks, and a lack of flash can be one.

  15. Considering that iPads aren’t being manufactured fast enough, Adoption of Tablets could stand to be retarded a wee bit.

    If someone still requires their Legacy NetBook, Laptop, Android Tablet or Desktop Computer to access a specific website, and Flash is their killer feature, let them continue using their existing device.

    When they need to upgrade to a modern device like a Window 8 Metro, iOS or Android ICS Device, they will be forced to abandon Flash, but in the interim, they still have the option.

  16. I think any serious Journalist with an iota of Integrity would have trouble writing a new iPad review that wasn’t positive.

    His advertisers would be clamouring for some negative aspect, so if he includes some token, baseless ‘Cons’, he will still get paid, without loosing much credibility.

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