Build iOS applications with Flex and Flash Builder 4.5.1
You already know that you can use Flex 4.5 and Flash Builder 4.5 to build applications for Android and BlackBerry Tablet OS devices. Today we’re releasing an update to Flash Builder that will enable the exact same workflow to build iOS apps. You’ve probably see us demo this a million times already but today it’s here for you to start building your applications!
In this video I’m showing you have easy it is to do this and where to get all the developer and device certificates from.
The coolest thing is that you can now use the exact same code to build apps for Android, BlackBerry Tablet OS and iOS devices in one go! When you’re app is ready you only need to press the release build button to package your application for all these platforms.
“But my application won’t look native, Serge“. Well… I kinda like that. Flex gives you the freedom to make your application look however you want. But if you really need that native iOS feel then check out this Flex theme.
Want to find out more about Flash Builder 4.5? Then don’t forget to sign up for our Developer Week. It starts today and tomorrow I’ll be talking about mobile application development using Flex and Flash Builder 4.5.1.
If you already have Flash Builder 4.5 then go to the HELP menu and select SEARCH FOR FLASH BUILDER UPDATES to download the 4.5.1 update. If you haven’t upgraded to Flash Builder 4.5 yet then try it for 60 days. I guarantee you’ll love it. Oh… And yes… The iOS workflow also works on Windows!
AIR 2.7 now available for desktop, Android, iOS and Blackberry Tablet OS.
When I think about the new features in AIR 2.7 I can’t help but think about this Daft Punk song… Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger. That’s exactly what this release is all about… Well… You know what I mean ;-)
On mobile my favorite new feature is the improved rendering on iOS. With this release AIR apps for iOS render up to 4x faster in CPU mode. This change will improve the performance of many AIR for iOS apps, including those built with the Flex framework.
But don’t believe our words for it… Try it out yourself! There are already some really cool AIR apps in the appstore today. Try the Rossignol app for instance.
Or try one of Terry Paton’s games like Meteor Storm or Mazeball!
Another one of my favorite new features is probably the most requested feature for AIR for Android. You can now install or move the AIR runtime onto the SD cards within your Android devices!
An update for Flash Builder will be released soon but you can already grab the AIR SDK today and start building your apps!
Flash Builder sneak peek: Mobile application development
I’m sure you all know that Flash Builder will enable you to build applications with Flex and/or ActionScript and then compile them for distribution on the Android Market. An upcoming version of Flash Builder will also enable the same workflow for iOS and BlackBerry Tablet OS applications. You’ll even be able to package these different types of installers in one go.
Lots of exciting announcements at CES! Here are my favorites!
Oh wow…Is it just me or does the tech world look very different this morning? I’m talking about the many exciting announcements coming out of CES. I was able to catch a few minutes of the Nvidia press conference last night so let’s start with that.
Jen-Hsun Huang (Nvidia’s CEO): When you put great engineers [from both Nvidia and Adobe] together this is what you’re able to achieve.
When I heard him say that it immediately stuck in my mind. Just because it is so true! Nvidia’s Tegra 2 really is a game changer and such an achievement would not be possible without strong partnerships. Check out this video segment from Nvidia’s press conference showing the performance of Flash on a Tegra 2 enabled device.
The LG Optimus 2X will be one of the first Tegra 2 enabled devices and it looks damn sexy!
The Motorola Xoom (also powered by Nvidia’s Tegra 2) looks like another amazing device. The 10.1 inch display has a 16:10 aspect ratio, which makes watching video on it a lot less awkward than on the iPad’s 4:3 screen. Especially since most of today’s video is widescreen video. I never got why Apple went for the 4:3 screen… The Xoom looks great and yes… Motorola offers the full web…
Melissa Gardner (Motorola VP of consumer and product marketing): When you add Adobe in and the fact that they provide an internet experience that is exactly like the internet experience you have at home… That’s the magic.
The Motorola Xoom runs on Android Honeycomb. Honeycomb is optimized specifically for tablet devices.
There’s also lots of excitement about the BlackBerry PlayBook. Engadget got to play with one and here’s an example of the PlayBook’s very impressive multitasking.
Engadget: If you can’t tell, we’re very impressed. Overall the device is blazingly fast, comfortable to hold, and intuitive to use.
Oh… Just to make sure you got the message: All of the above run Flash! Did I not tell you that this was going to be an amazing year for Flash developers? Flash on!
1 code base, 6 devices: Now including BlackBerry PlayBook
A couple of weeks ago I published a post about a proof-of-concept application that I built for a local commercial broadcaster. The app that I built in just 5 hours ran on 5 different devices. As I just started playing around with the BlackBerry PlayBook SDK I wanted to see how long it would take to push this app to the PlayBook. I was pleasantly surprised that it just worked! It only took me 2 minutes. So I can now say: 1 code base, 5 hours, 6 devices! It now runs on my desktop/laptop, HTC Desire HD (Android smartphone), Samsung Galaxy Tab (Android tablet), Google TV, AIR for TV, and now the BlackBerry PlayBook. And that, my friends, is the power of the Flash Platform! ;-) It’s a great time to be a Flash developer!
When you look at the video you will see one small flaw in my app though. The preloader screen doesn’t adapt to the bigger screen resolution so that will be the only thing I would have to update. Everything else is exactly the same code as the Android version of the application.
To get started building applications for the BlackBerry PlayBook check out the BlackBerry developer site. My fellow evangelist Renaun Erickson also has a ton of information about developing for the PlayBook on his blog!
Please note that the PlayBook emulator currently does not output audio from Flash video files and currently only plays videos that are encoded with the On2 VP6 codec. This is only a limitation because of the beta quality of the emulator.
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