Adobe closes InMarket as world shifts to HTML5
Its applications portal for smartphones and PCs failed to win critical mass, closed after nine months
Published: 27 July, 2011
READ MORE: Adobe | App Store | Flash
With so much of the mobile world's attention on HTML5, an applications portal for Flash-based products had probably missed its moment. Adobe is shutting down its InMarket platform, which aimed to provide a cross-platform superstore for Flash software, as well as its AIR Marketplace, only nine months after they opened.
The portals were part of Adobe's strategy of strengthening its technologies as cross-platform standards, allowing developers to stay out of the OS wars on mobile devices. However, it is seeing that role usurped by HTML5, helped by Apple's consistent hostility to Flash, which it has permitted only grudgingly onto its platforms. Adobe said it would still focus its efforts on helping developers publish their applications across multiple platforms, but would not offer an umbrella storefront.
Adobe introduced InMarket last October, providing a common publishing and purchasing hub for multiple operating systems and multiple single-vendor stores. In particular, it tapped into app stores from traditional partners from the PC world such as Intel and Acer. Developers received the standard 70% of revenues and Adobe handled credit card processing, back office functions, hosting and marketing. Developers registered and created a publisher profile and could then build and test programs using the InMarket software developers' kit, with submissions validated within 10 days.
Developers will no longer be able to submit apps to InMarket, though those whose route into the portal was Intel's AppUp store will be transferred to that platform, which focuses on apps optimized for Atom devices running various OSs including Intel's own MeeGo. Such programmers will automatically receive AppUp credentials in the coming weeks.
Adobe AIR Marketplace will be closed at the same time. This has lasted rather longer - three years - but Adobe said the software market had changed since then. Back in 2008, it said, developers had few channels to distribute their products but now they have many choices and, the company says, should turn to outlets like App Store, Android Market, BlackBerry App World and Samsung Apps.
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