It sometimes seems like all the really fun things to do online, like play games or watch YouTube clips, are centered around the use of Adobe Flash-based applications. One of the big stumbling blocks in getting mobile internet use to become more ubiquitous is that, for many devices, there's little to no Flash support. Adobe is looking to do something about that situation, partnering with Nokia to invest $10 million in a fund to encourage development of content using both Flash and Adobe's Air, specifically content focused for delivery on mobile platforms.

This Open Screen Project will provide funds and support for developers building Flash-based programs, which should easily be made to work on a multitude of devices. Hoping to get these Flash apps out to more and more gadgets, Adobe's come up with a new distribution scheme for its Flash Lite installer, now bundling it as a redistributable package that can be attached to the application needing it. Not requiring the user to separately install Adobe's software should make things much more convenient in the case of mobile devices, especially if an internet connection isn't always available. Though the OSP is concentrating on Flash development right now, Air is also a priority, though apparently more down the line.

Flash Lite is a great first step in getting Flash onto mobile devices, but it's really just a placeholder. Luckily, Adobe's committed to releasing a full version of Flash 10 for nearly every big name in the mobile game: Windows Mobile, Android, Palm, and Symbian. While you shouldn't expect any full Flash releases this year, Adobe plans to be ready for them all by sometime in 2010. No commitment to when you can hope to see iPhone support, but we suppose that's to be expected.

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