Although the iPhone is said to deliver a desktop-like Web experience, it doesn't support eiher Flash or Java, which limits users' access to things like games and YouTube videos. Some thought Apple could announce Flash support tomorrow, but Steve Jobs's comments at yesterday's Apple shareholders meeting suggested not. He reckons it's too slow.
A Dow Jones report, Adobe's Flash Player Not Suited For IPhone, Apple CEO Says, covers the current state of play.
This is likely to upset Adobe, because its strategy is for Flash to be ubiquitous, but it probably doesn't matter much to Jobs. The number of lost sales because the iPhone lacks Flash is probably pretty small, because iPhone sales are themselves pretty small. If it does become a significant barrier, then Apple can easily add it. In the meantime, not supporting Flash (and Java) allows Apple more control over applications on the iPhone.
