Apple may have no interest in bringing Adobe Flash to iOS devices such as the iPad, but that doesn't mean it can't be done.
Using a port of Adobe's Flash runtime for Android phones, developer Comex created "Frash," which runs within mobile Safari on jailbroken iPads. The project isn't fully baked yet, notably missing keyboard and video input support, but it does prove the viability of Flash on iOS devices, and gives users one more reason to jailbreak.
You can see a video of Frash in action on YouTube. It's surprisingly smooth, handing games from Newgrounds.com and a Strong Bad animated cartoon even as the demonstrator scrolls and zooms around on the Web page. Frash uses a multi-process model that's similar to Google Chrome Web browser, so if one instance of Flash crashes, the browser and any other Flash windows will continue to operate.
Video support will require "major reverse engineering of the video decoding frameworks on the iPhone," according to information posted with Frash's YouTube demonstration, so don't get too excited for Hulu or other video sites yet. And because Flash content is generally designed with keyboards and mouses in mind, there's a lot of content you wouldn't be able to enjoy even with Frash. Keyboard support is on the way, but it'll take a broader effort by Adobe and Flash developers to allow for touch screen input. That may start to happen as Android devices gain Flash support.
For now, Jailbroken iPad owners with a bit of technical know-how can try Frash by following the instructions at Github. Support for iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 are on the way, but earlier iOS devices won't be able to run Frash because they're just not powerful enough.
