Calsoft Labs and Freescale to certify Adobe Flash player on i.MX51 reference platform

BANGALORE, INDIA: Calsoft Labs has collaborated with Freescale to certify Adobe Flash Player on Freescale Semiconductor's i.MX51 applications processor platform. The certification allows commercial distribution of Flash Player 10.1 on Freescale's i.MX51 development platforms.

Flash Player enables playback of rich internet content on more than 98 percent of the PCs worldwide and more than 20 million smartphones today. The vast majority of video delivered online is based on Flash technology.

Calsoft Labs, an Adobe scaling partner, offers Flash Player porting, certification and upgrade services as well as Flash Player licenses. Calsoft Labs has successfully completed numerous Flash Player ports till date to various operating systems such as Linux, Android, and Microsoft Windows CE.

Calsoft Labs also offers full life-cycle product development and sustaining engineering services to OEMs/ODMs in automotive infotainment, consumer electronics, network infrastructure and storage markets.

The i.MX51 platform targets a broad range of CE applications such as tablets and other smart devices that require high performance and low power. The processor is based on the ARM Cortex-A8 CPU and integrates a hardware video decoder.

"The i.MX51 family of processors with ARM Cortex A8 CPU running at as fast as 800 MHz is ideal for running rich Flash based content on a wide range of multimedia devices," said Anand Joshi, Vice President of Digital Home Technology BU at Calsoft Labs. "An accelerated Flash Player solution will enable OEMs to deliver PC-like browser experiences on tablet class devices."

"Our collaboration with Calsoft Labs means that i.MX51 customers can now more fully leverage the Flash Player," said Rajeev Kumar, i.MX Product Line Manager for Freescale's Multimedia Applications Division. "Support for optimized, rich browsing of Flash based content is crucial for our customers. A certified reference platform is expected to reduce time to market for OEMs developing their devices using our advanced i.MX51 platform."

"Scaling partners such as Calsoft Labs enable Adobe to extend its reach to serve a broad market of devices - from smartphones, to tablets, televisions and desktops," said Anthony Haag, Director, Business Development at Adobe. "A certified reference for Flash Player ensures that OEMs have easy and fast access to the latest Flash Player technology from Adobe."

Adobe Flash Player is optimized to support several video formats including H.264, On2 VP6, and Sorenson Spark. Hardware decoded videos are required to enable quality playback of video content on the web from sites such as Youtube.

The port for Flash Player 10.1 is available on Freescale's Linux reference platform. Subsequent releases for Flash Player 10.2 and 10.3 are also being planned.