Adobe introduced a new experimental tool on Tuesday called Wallaby that converts Flash content into HTML 5. Right now Wallaby can handle a limited selection of Flash components, but it does offer a way to get at least some of the content developers are creating with Adobe’s multimedia tools onto devices like Apple’s iPhone and iPad.
Wallaby is an Adobe AIR-based application that focuses on translating Adobe Flash Professional files (FLA) into HTML 5. So far, Adobe has been focusing its efforts on making the converted files WebKit-compatible — think Safari and Chrome.
Wallaby turns Flash banner ads iOS-compatible HTML 5
Adobe’s Tom Barclay told The Mac Observer that Wallaby is more of a technology preview and its experimental nature means it isn’t an all encompassing tool, at least not yet. In its current state, Wallaby works well for converting Flash animations into HTML 5, and Mr. Barclay expects designers will use the tool to convert banner ads into a format that mobile devices that lack Flash support can view.
Wallaby doesn’t handle ActionScript, so that means apps and interactive ads won’t convert to HTML 5. It also won’t convert audio and video content.
Since Wallaby is an experimental project, expect to see changes and new features over time. “We’re looking for ideas on how people will use Wallaby features,” Mr. Barclay said.
Adobe doesn’t have any official product plans for Wallaby yet, but that doesn’t mean it won’t find its way into a future version of Flash Pro.
Wallaby is available as a free download at the Adobe Labs Web site and requires Creative Suite 5.