Adobe expects Flash to be installed in 250mn phones by 2012

Adobe Systems today made new predictions about its popular Flash Player, saying it expects it to be installed in more than 250-million smartphones by 2012.

The optimistic comments come as Apple chief executive Steve Jobs said his company would not support the Adobe Flash platform on its iPhone and iPad devices, saying it is no longer relevant in the mobile space, favoring the more robust and opened HTML5 platform.

Steve Jobs’ argument is Flash is not efficient for mobile devices because of the high power consumption and security concerns, and largely the fact that the platform is proprietary.

 Adobe argues Apple’s proprietary iOS platform is even more closed, as the company strictly regulates which applications are available in iTunes and what tools developers can use to develop devices, in this case, banning developers from using Flash.

Adobe and Apple have been involved in heated exchanges, with executives from both companies criticizing each platform.

Despite the lack of Flash support, demand for the iPad has exceeded expectations, selling more than 2-million units in only 59 days.

Apple is reportedly working behind the scenes with popular websites such as Hulu to have them dump Flash and adopt HTML5 that is supported on the iPad.

Adobe has already confirmed Flash support will be included in Nokia handsets, BlackBerry devices, Android powered smartphones, Microsoft Windows Phone 7 handsets, among other smartphones in the future, including a scaled down version of Flash for less powerful devices.