Pandora Drops Flash for HTML 5

Internet streaming music service Pandora announced on Tuesday that it is phasing out Flash in favor of HTML 5. The change means users won’t have to rely on the Flash plug-in in their Web browser to listen to the service’s music offerings, and the company claims switching to HTML 5 has improved overall performance, too.

“The front-end technology has been rebuilt in HTML 5 and together with a host of other improvements results in a much faster experience,” the Pandora Web site stated.

Pandora Ditches Flash for HTML 5Pandora is dumping Flash for HTML 5

The HTML 5 version of Pandora includes a redesigned user interface, more robust search options, quick access to playback controls, one-click access to details about the current track, social interaction features, and more.

Pandora’s move away from Flash is likely a disappointment to Adobe since the company continues to push the multimedia format as a critical component in viewing and listening to content on the Internet. The move away from Adobe’s technology, however, is slowly gaining momentum.

Pandora will be transitioning users to the HTML 5 version of its service in phases starting today.