Thibault Imbert has written a great post Introducing Flash Player 11.2 and AIR 3.2 Beta 4 and Stage 3D support.

The Chicago Tribune is running a story on how to Track the primaries and the candidates this election season. The first app they picked? The Flex and AIR based PolitiFact app.

Remember the Sony sponsored Adobe AIR App Challenge that I mentioned a while back (and on stage at MAX)? Well, the winning apps have been announced.

Title says is all, click here to download.

Adobe is in the midst of a fundamental transformation. We are transforming from software in boxes to solutions in the cloud, and to a world of touch interfaces on devices, and social connections everywhere. This is a time of both innovation and change for Adobe and for the Adobe community. And this article on ADC explains Adobe's strategic transformation and the Flash Platform, and summarizes the recent announcements.

Flash has always had an interestingly evolving job. It wasn't that long ago when if your web site needed a cool drop down menu you'd use Flash, until HTML and web browser improvements made that unnecessary. And it wasn't that long ago that developers who wanted pop-up calendars or controls in our web forms used Flash, until DHTML made that just as unnecessary. Then Flash powered the in-browser video revolution, and Flash remains the dominant web browser video player, but now there are alternatives there as well. Even transitions and visual effects, once exclusively the realm of Flash, now have alternatives.

You see, Flash's job has always been to pick up where the browser left off, with the understanding that the line between them was a grey and moving one. As HTML and web browsers have evolved and improved, Flash gets to back-off from specific use cases, handing them off to the web browser itself, and thereby freeing itself up to tackle the next challenge.

Or another way to look at it is this, Flash exists because browsers didn't do enough, and as they do more Flash willingly cedes responsibilities to the browser.

Where things get interesting is on devices. Unlike on desktops, where older browsers still reign supreme and where browser innovation has faced slower adoption, device browsers are actually really good and really current. The fact that there are fewer browsers and better browsers, ones that support HTML5 innovation and standards and specifications, in many ways makes Flash far less critical for an optimum web browsing experience. That coupled with the fact that Flash is excluded from the browser on many devices means that web developers already need to code for a non-Flash experience, and that then makes Flash even less compelling for in-browser uses on devices.

Which is why we announced today that we will no longer continue to develop Flash Player in the browser on mobile devices. For in-browser experiences on devices, browsers can finally do what they really should do, and we have HTML5 to thank for that. So that's where we are doubling down, and we're hard at work on making HTML5 better (as we showed at MAX) as well as on tooling to support HTML5 development.

But just to be clear, this announcement pertains to the browser plug-in on mobile devices only.

The Flash browser plug-in on the desktop remains important and viable and even critical for many use cases, and we've publicly committed to adding value and features and functionality to better address just these use cases, primarily gaming and video. (And at the same time we're aggressively driving in-browser HTML5 enhancements, including web motion and interaction design, another area where Flash used to be the only game in town).

Similarly, Flash based apps on mobile devices remain highly compelling, and AIR thus remains a great way to use Flash to build apps for Android, iOS, and RIM PlayBook. And with the recently released support for native extensions, the scope of what is possible in Flash based app has grown incredibly.

So, yes, in-browser Flash on mobile devices is reaching the end of the line. Flash on desktops continues to deliver in ways the browser can't (yet). Flash is one way to build apps, and HTML5 (using PhoneGap) is another. You, as a developer, have options.

While the delivery mechanism changes as technology and platforms change, our commitment to providing the right tools and services does not. Our job has always been to empower developers and designers to create the most engaging and compelling experiences. That's one thing that does not change at all.

Erick Vera has posted a simple and insightful explanation of AIR 3 Native Extensions.

Beta versions of Flash Player 11.2 and AIR 3.2 have just been posted to Adobe Labs.

We just announced that Adobe Flash Player 11 and AIR 3 will be launching in early October. To help you get ready, here are some articles on what's new and exciting:

• What's new in Adobe AIR 3
• HTML updates in Adobe AIR 3
• What's new in Flash Player 11
• What's new in Flex 4.6 SDK and Flash Builder 4.6
• Installation and deployment options in Adobe AIR 3
• Native extensions for Adobe AIR

I mentioned Machinarium last week. CNET's Stephen Shankland has posted his thoughts on the app in a post entitled Flash-derived iPad game tops App Store charts. The CNET article is good. But, more interesting (and not at all surprising) are the comments - read them for yourself.

Machinarium is an award winning point-and-click Flash based adventure game. The game has just been ported to run on the iPad using Flash and AIR, and this could very well be the biggest AIR mobile app to date. The app is now for sale on the App Store and has just been designated iPad Game Of The Week (as seen in this picture). Check out the trailer and overview article.

The Adobe AIR 3 release candidate adds support for native extensions, allowing developers can create and use ActionScript libraries with native code to take advantage of platform and device specific native capabilities and APIs with easy integration into AIR applications. To learn more, read Extending Adobe AIR by Adobe Principal Scientist Oliver Goldman.

Flash Rocks (on Facebook) is the place for you to show off your killer Flash Platform apps, projects and more. You can also check out what other people have done with the Flash Platform. Who knows? Maybe you'll be inspired to produce your most rockin' Flash Platform project yet!

I mentioned the Adobe + Sony AIR App contest previously. Tomorrow (Thursday, September 1st), fellow evangelists Ryan Stewart and Mark Doherty, along with Sony, are hosting two webinars about the Adobe AIR App Challenge. Click here for details and registration.

One of the coolest new features in Flash Builder is the ability to debug applications on devices connected via USB. Fellow Adobe evangelist Bhakti Pingale has created a video on the subject for Adobe TV.

Flash Pro and Flash Builder users can build apps that run on all major device platforms, including iOS (iPhone and iPad). Yes, despite what some would lead you to believe, you can indeed use Flash to build apps for iDevices. Want to learn more? Here are two Adobe TV videos that you should be aware of.

In this video, fellow evangelist Paul Trani shows you how to use Flash Professional CS5.5 to create and publish an app for the iPad that uses the accelerometer and saves images to the camera roll.

In this next video, fellow evangelist Renaun Erickson demonstrates AIR 2.7 app performance on iPad.

I just presented the first segment of the opening keynote at Adobe Developer Tech Day in Shanghai, China. Fellow evangelist Enrique Duvos is now on the stage wowing the audience with Stage 3D demos. This is a very technical audience, almost all online all the time. The interesting thing is that standing on stage I counted exactly 5 open laptops, everyone else was online on phones (primarily a mix of iPhones and Android devices) and tablets (iPads). My key message was on the importance of building apps for multiple devices and platforms and form-factors, and not being locked into single-vendor development which will preclude you from reaching a broader market. The audience themselves validated my point better than I could do so myself.

The PolitiFact app has fast become the poster child for all that is great about Flash, Flex, and AIR. The app is useful, fun, responsive, supports multiple platforms and devices, and was built by one developer using a single codebase in just three weeks. Recently the iPhone/iPad version of the app made Apple's What's Hot list, too. Well, now the app has made its Broadway debut, featured on a giant electronic billboard in Times Square, complete with a huge onscreen QR code for easy downloading.

ADC is running an article by Flash Runtime Principal Scientists Oliver Goldman on Considerations for developing Adobe AIR applications for mobile. This one is worth a quick read.

Fellow Adobe evangelist Paul Trani is an author! He has just published his first book (co-authored with three other developers) on building Android applications using Flash, Flex, and AIR. Pro Android Flash is available for purchase now on Amazon.com.

Last week I mentioned the Adobe AIR App Challenge sponsored by Sony. To help you get started, and to learn more about using AIR to build apps for the upcoming Sony tablet devices, we're hosting two webinars later this week. Details online, and registration is now open.

Title says it all, and this post over on the Flash Platform blog provides lots of details.

Adobe and Sony are challenging developers to build breakthrough Adobe AIR apps optimized for the new Android-based Sony Tablet codenamed S1 and S2. Build apps using Flash and AIR for a chance to win $200,000 in total cash prizes and other rewards. Details about the Adobe AIR App Challenge are now online.

Adobe is hosting summits and tech days in India and China, and I plan to attend both. The Adobe Flash Platform Summit 2011 will take place in Bangalore, India, July 27th - 29th, 2011. The Adobe Developer Tech Day (focused on gaming) will take place in Shanghai, China, on August 3rd. Registration for both events is now open.

The Red Bull Illume is an impressive example of an iPad application built using Flash and AIR. Check out Lee Brimelow's post and video.