Adobe Flash Lite and Reader LE Licensed by Microsoft

Adobe announced that Microsoft has licensed Adobe Flash Lite software, as well as Adobe Reader LE software for viewing PDF documents including email attachments and web content. Both Adobe products will be made available to Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) worldwide, who license Windows Mobile software.

Adobe’s Flash Lite is an award-winning Flash Player runtime specifically designed for mobile devices. Microsoft will use it for enabling web browsing of Flash Player compatible content within the Internet Explorer Mobile browser in future versions of Microsoft Windows Mobile phones. Its plug-in for Internet Explorer Mobile on Windows Mobile will provide users with access to rich and interactive web content created using Adobe Flash technology. As the most popular and ubiquitous format on the Internet today, Adobe Flash powers many rich and engaging web sites, applications and animations.

Adobe Reader LE will allow Windows Mobile users to easily and reliably view and navigate rich PDF content using innovative features developed to improve document readability on smaller screens.

“People want vibrant web experiences and access to entertainment and information anywhere, anytime,” said John O’Rourke, general manager, Mobile Communications Business at Microsoft Corp. “Bringing Flash Lite and Reader LE to the Windows Mobile experience will give consumers more of their favorite websites on the go.”

Windows Mobile is the platform specifically designed for mobile phones. Internet Explorer Mobile provides a compact Internet browser that is optimized for Windows Mobile phones. In 2007, Microsoft sold 11 million Windows Mobile licenses and expects to sell more than 20 million licenses in 2008, making Windows Mobile a leading smartphone platform globally.

Adobe Flash Lite and Reader LE availability for Windows Mobile phones will be confirmed later.