Apple to Flash: Your kind isn't welcomed 'round here.

As a list of complaints for the iPad is being refuted with witty philosophies from the Apple-devoted, one issue that still seems odd to me is Apple's consistent refusal to allow Flash on their devices. It's no secret that Apple is not a fan of Adobe...but many experts considered Flash on the iPad a no-brainer....a must for a visually rich mobile web experience.

While Apple now allows developers to develop apps in Flash, they refuse to budge an inch in the mobile web space. The welcoming in one area and refusal in another didn't seem to make much sense, until I began to think about the one thing that dictates all companies, big and small....revenue.

Currently, Apple makes a 30% cut off of anything in their iTunes store and an undisclosed amount from mobile-ad banners serving within their app network. With over 3 billion app downloads in just two years, Apple has literally raked in hundreds of millions just from apps alone. The additional revenue from their audio and video content and ad-network deals are likely to be even more impressive.

Flash is the scary, evil force that currently, is the sole threat to this lush fiscal stream. Flash provides a legitimate threat to iTunes in two main areas...streaming video content (ala Hulu) and flash-based tools that could closely mimic the applications one could find in the robust app store. The fact Flash lives on the Internet, independent of any app store, would provide a direct by-pass for developers to tackle all sorts of content and revenue streams that Apple is accustomed to holding sole possession to. Instead of purchasing that episode of Arrested Development on iTunes, why not hit up Hulu? Why pay $3 for that Bewjewled app when I can just play it on this mobile site? Flash is such a threat that Steve Jobs wants you to know...it was no mistake he brought up nytimes.com on the iPad, with the gaping Flash hole (with the little blue lego) for the world to see.

Apple's victory is bound to be short-lived. New coding and technologies in mobile are pushing app-like aspects and video capabilities in web-based tools, independent of Flash. Mobile-optimized sites that can live independent of any app store, carrier or device are becoming increasingly sophisticated in what they can do. As the number of smartphones continues to explode, native apps will become increasingly hard for advertisers to craft, as the constant re-purposing for carriers, screen sizes and handsets will wipe any chances of profitability away. The technology of tomorrow doesn't pose much of a threat to Apple today, but the way the mobile landscape is moving, tomorrow's technology will be here in a Flash.