I’m surprised that Apple has decided not to support Adobe Flash on the iPad. Why would Apple want to cramp its own innovation by not supporting the world’s most popular media player?

There’s been a war of words between the two CEO’s, but suffice to say there wouldn’t be so many words if it didn’t matter.

My surprise, first blush, has to do with Loyalty. I may have this wrong, but wasn’t it Adobe Photoshop that was a linch pin of the Mac’s survival?  When the vast majority of corporations were going PC, the Mac maintained a strong hold in design and advertising because of its unique abilities to manage art projects. So, I always thought Adobe and Apple were playing well together. Loyalty is a rare thing in life, and even more rare in the corporate world. I do like it when I see it, and it gives me pause to see Apple turning its back on an old friend. This is one reason I think this decision by Apple is short sighted. Interestingly, some consumers now have more brand loyalty towards the ‘droid’ technology than the iPhone.

The second reason has to do with competing platforms.  Flash is an important media product.  Tactically, it might benefit Apple short term, although one could argue the point.  Long term, I think it’s a strategic mistake. Apple is pushing consumers to the competition by not having a video solution.  Android technology, the platform used by Motorola and others, is supporting Flash from the start, and this sets up a clear difference between those two mobile platforms. Down the road, some will choose an Android based device because it has Flash, and that means Apple loses.  Application developers will also choose the more tried and true media platform, and this will also push consumers toward the competition.

What am I missing here? I invite your comments…