Flash Lite provides a plug-in for the Web
Browser for S60 that allows the browser to play Flash content embedded
in HTML and XHTML Web pages. When a SWF file is correctly defined in the <embed> and <object> elements
of a Web page, the Web Browser for S60 automatically loads the file and uses
the plug-in to play the Flash content. The plug-in similarly supports embedded
Flash content for widgets running in the Web Runtime (WRT) environment of S60 devices.
Browser-embedded Flash content is supported on S60 3rd Edition, Feature Pack 1 and newer devices. However, S60 5th Edition with Flash Lite 3.0 is the first platform release to provide full Flash support in the Web Browser for S60. Compared to previous versions, Flash Lite 3.0 supports a more complete, more desktop-like web browsing experience.
Note: Newer S60 3rd Edition, Feature Pack 2 devices also provide full Flash Lite 3.0 support.
The main difference between Flash Lite 2.0 / 2.1 and Flash Lite 3.0 is that whereas 2.0 / 2.1 is mainly suited for playing back embedded Flash content, Flash Lite 3.0 supports extensive scriptable interaction between the Flash content and the containing Web page. With Flash Lite 3.0, you can pass ActionScript commands from the Flash content to the Web page and use JavaScript commands to access and control the Flash content. With Flash Lite 2.0 / 2.1, the interaction is mostly limited to controlling the Flash content via JavaScript.
The following table summarizes the major browser-related updates for each Flash Lite version. For general Flash Lite version information, see section Flash Lite versions.
|
Flash Lite version |
Features in the Web Browser for S60 |
|---|---|
|
Flash Lite 2.0 / 2.1 |
|
|
Flash Lite 3.0 |
|
For information about the Web Browser for S60 versions, see section Web Browser for S60 versions and device support in the Web Developer's Library.
For more information about the Web Browser for S60, see the S60 info page and section Introduction to the Web Browser for S60 in the Web Developer's Library.
When developing Flash content for Web pages optimized for the Web Browser for S60, keep the following considerations in mind:
Develop and publish the content for Flash Lite rather than the Flash Player. Even though the Web Browser for S60 supports both, creating your content for Flash Lite ensures that the content is compatible with the mobile environment.
Keep the content as simple as possible, and use interaction only when you have to and even then sparingly. Embedded Flash is best suited for:
Non-interactive animations
Simple interactive content, such as ads and banners with links, or games with simple controls
Streaming media applications with simple user interfaces
Prefer devices with Flash Lite 3.0 or newer, since these support more robust interaction between ActionScript and JavaScript and thus provide a more complete, more desktop-like user experience.
For more information about developing Flash content for mobile Web pages, see the following resources:
Incorporating Flash content (widgets) in the Web Developer's Library
Adobe Flash Lite 3.1 web browsability mobile guidelines for developers at the Adobe Web site (although the name of the document refers to Flash Lite 3.1, the principles can be applied to any Flash Lite version)
Knowing which Flash Lite version a device supports can be crucial to properly implementing Flash content on your Web page. To detect the Flash Lite version, use SWFObject. SWFObject is a free JavaScript file used for detecting and embedding Flash content on Web pages. You can download the file here.
For more information about SWFObject:
For instructions on how to detect the Flash Lite version using SWFObject, see Detecting Flash Player versions and embedding SWF files with SWFObject 2 at the Adobe Developer Connection. For a table that maps the returned version value to the corresponding Flash Lite version, see section Detecting the Flash Lite version on a device.
For information about the JavaScript methods provided by SWFObject, see SWFObject JavaScript API documentation at the SWFObject Web site.