Google finished off 2010 with the long-awaited launch of its e-book marketplace,”Google eBookstore”. Beyond Google’s already 6 million strong library of titles, itsdevice-agnostic approach was seen by many in the industry as a threat to other, more solidified players in the industry, such as Amazon and its Kindle e-reader. Now, it looks like Google may be working to further its support of multiple devices with the acquisition of eBook Technologies.

TechCrunch broke the story earlier today, saying that Google confirmed the acquisition. Google offer the following statement: “We are happy to welcome eBook Technologies’ team to Google. Together, we hope to deliver richer reading experiences on tablets, electronic readers and other portable devices.”

The statement echoes the one on the company’s homepage, which announces the acquisition and says that “Working together with Google will further our commitment to providing a first-class reading experience on emerging tablets, e-readers and other portable devices.”

Google supports a number of devices, from Android and iOS smartphones to any e-book reader that supports the Adobe e-book platform to any device with a Javascript-enabled browser. As the Consumer Electronics Show pointed out to everyone paying attention last week, though, there is an onslaught of tablets, superphones and other mobile devices on the horizon. Could this acquisition have to do with this explosion of devices? Or, as TechCrunch’s Jason Kincaid suggests, could it have to do with the “distribution technology” referred to on the company’s site?

A key feature of the eBook platform and, a breakthrough for both avid readers and professional customers, is the ability to purchase and/or access reading materials anywhere and at any time. Instantaneous access to content is enabled through a built-in modem, USB, or Ethernet connection on the eBook device. Once connected to the ETI eBook Network via the Internet, customers can browse, select, access and optionally purchase eBook content from an eBookstore.

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At Web 2.0 Expo this year in the Adobe booth we’re showing off some devices and tablets running Android with full Flash Player and AIR on them.

It runs Adobe’s Flash and Air apps flawlessly. That was the first time I saw Adobe’s Air apps running on a tablet and totally impressed by how it ran. And now I can understand why Apple wants to ban Flash and other Adobe products completely from their iPhones and iPads, because it’s rather incredible technology.

It’s been a bit of a long haul, but we’re really close to putting the runtimes in your hands so you can see it for yourself.

View full post on Digital Backcountry – Ryan Stewart’s Flash Platform Blog

Some very cool video of Flash Player and AIR running on HP’s Slate tablet computer.

It’s great to see Flash Player running on a tablet. One of the nice things about the tablet versus the mobile device is that because of the larger screen size, more content will work out of the box. Flash on mobile devices performs really well but the screen size is going to require some UI changes for sites that will be visited heavily by mobile devices. Tablets provide a more big-screen experience.

View full post on Digital Backcountry – Ryan Stewart’s Flash Platform Blog