Does the iPhone support Flash?

No. The iPhone does not support flash.

Apple has been clear, up until this point, that they do not intend to support Flash on the iPhone. Adobe announced its own plans to support Flash on the iPhone when the iPhone SDK was released, but was forced to repeal their own comments when they discovered the SDK did not provide enough access to the iPhone OS "innards" to provide such support.

Future generations of the iPhone may support Flash, but for now, the answer is no.

Does the iPhone support Java?

No. The iPhone will not support Java applications of any kind. Steve Jobs has been quoted as saying "Java's not worth building in. Nobody uses Java anymore. It's this big heavyweight ball and chain."

We can't disagree with the last part of Jobs' scathing remark, but stating that Java doesn't get used anymore couldn't be farther from the truth - especially in the world of mobile devices.

In any event, the iPhone will not offer Java support.

Will instant messaging be available on the iPhone?

Contrary to popular belief, the answer is most likely YES!... sort of. Web applications are going to have a huge impact on the iPhone. As users will not be able to install their own software, they will resort to web applications. Instant messaging can be achieved through sites like XS4All's web chat site.

Officially, the iPhone will not provide native instant messaging functionality.

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