The HTC Hero Android Flash supported handset is here, and we were fortunate enough to get Mark Doherty Platform Evangelist for Mobile and Devices at Adobe to answer a few questions regarding Flash on the Hero. While it is not the full Flash 10 for smartphones we all have been dying for, it's better than having no Flash at all so for the time being Android fans will have to make do until October comes around when we all can get a taste of Flash 10 beta for smartphones. Full Q&A after the jump, enjoy and tell us what are your thoughts.

HTC Hero How long has Adobe been working on Flash for the HTC Hero

Mark Doherty: Adobe and HTC have been working together for some months to extend Flash to the HTC Hero. Adobe provided HTC with ActiveX and Linux ports of Flash for mobile devices and HTC led the development with some assistance. We're really excited by the results and the overall web experience on the Android platform with Flash.

Was this a collaboration between Adobe and HTC

Mark Doherty: Absolutely, we always support our large number of customers in their integration of Flash to their platforms. In some cases we have partners that assist us, though for leading OEMs like HTC, and for new platforms, we work closer to ensure a successful port. HTC have now joined the Open Screen Project, demonstrating their commitment to the Flash Platform and integration of the full Flash Player to be released to the 25 Open Screen Project partners at the end of 2009.

Using too much system resource has been the achilles heel of Flash in my opinion, can users expect less resource usage with this version

Mark Doherty: We've been working for six years optimizing the Flash Player for mobile devices, and in that time we've learnt an incredible amount. Our optimizations enable extended battery life and much improved performance given the constraints of today's mobile devices. One of the key benefits of building a common player in Flash Player 10 is that mobile optimizations will also help on the desktop. So we expect to see these new features creep in on the desktop too.

I saw the video demo of Flash running on Yahoo movies and it didn't seem too friendly, do you guys have the time to sort out that problem before release day

Mark Doherty: I have asked for the URL to this movie so that we can determine what went wrong. To be fair it does look like a crash, but it could be any number of issues and maybe the sequel will fair better. Given that Android comes with updates it's quite possible that this could be fixed, yet we'll still need the test case.

Seeing Flash on the Hero, can Android users with other handsets expect to hit up Adobe's website or the Android Market to get their Flash fix

Mark Doherty: Currently Flash is available for the Hero but it is now available to the platform should HTC choose to make that available. There may be technical or legal challenges in that regard and we cannot speak to HTC's plans here.

Compared to the competition, what in your own words make Flash the better choice for users to enhance their web experience.

Mark Doherty: As a mature platform of tools and runtimes the Flash Platform has enabled a rich and engaging Internet. Today more than 80% of video on the web is played back in the Flash Player, and with increasing mobile usage the demand is growing for a similar mobile experience. In some parts of the world users experience the Internet only through mobile devices, and so it makes sense that Flash should be part of it.

Can you say anything about Flash 10 for smartphones?

Mark Doherty: As you noticed we announced the efforts to bring the full Flash Player to smartphone devices at MAX 2008. During 2009 we have been hard at work delivering on that promise, in fact the first release of Flash Player 10 will be delivered to Open Screen Project partners at the end of the year. It's a really exciting time seeing this come together and 25 leading industry partners have been helping to enable this on their chipsets, operating systems and devices.

What are your thoughts on the current mobile OS wars where Android, Windows Mobile, Symbian, iPhone OS, and WebOS is concerned? Also, which is your favorite

Mark Doherty: I don't believe that we can call it a war just yet, but it's certainly a very interesting time. When I began my career in Engineering I worked on the Symbian OS for years, and so I have a certain affection for it. Though I believe that the most winning platform will bring the complete Internet to every mobile user, to the mass market. Android seems like a natural choice, but we'll need to see mass market devices, or a new way to reduce the cost of owning a smartphone.

Many thanks to Mark Doherty for partaking in this Q&A, for more information regarding Flash for mobile device, head over to the FlashMobileBlog