How to run Flash on an iPhone (no jailbreak required)

By Scott Colvey on Wed 13 August 2008

Look, we’ll be honest – what we’re about to reveal isn’t at all practical but if there’s a Flash-laden website that you really, really want to access from your iPhone then we’ve found a way to just that.

You won’t need to jailbreak the handset or do anything that might otherwise enrage Apple or your carrier. However, we stress again that we can’t conceive of many situations where this little idea of ours will be all that useful but, as our screenshots show, it IS possible to get an iPhone to display Flash content. How? Well, it’ll cost you a click, teasing tykes that we are. In other words, the answer is after the cut.

The trick involves using VNC-alike tool LogMeIn to launch the Flash-content-laden site on a web browser window running on a remote PC. As LogMeIn works under the Safari browser, it is then possible to view the Flash content on the iPhone. But – and frankly, it’s a rather large BUT – the results can be so frustratingly slow, even over a local Wi-Fi connection, that you may wonder why you're bothering.

For instance, for this post we tried to video Safari running LogMeIn running a remote web browser window running a Flash video on the Adobe home page, but gave up because the frame rate appeared to be around one every five seconds.

So that there’s little point in trying it, other than for curiosity’s sake. But if you’re bored, LogMeIn Free is, er, free, so give it a go and let us know how you get on.

[LogMeIn]

Comments

Comment 1
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Slaxe 06:30 on 26 Aug 2008

true enough. Logmein is the alternative if you wanted to run flash content website. but it is REALLY slow...unless you want to email something.. its just better to use back a PC.

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Comment 2
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pikabum 22:35 on 4 Sep 2008

...or you could use Jaadu VNC which is really the best VNC / remote desktop app on the App Store!

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Comment 3
neutral
anonynous 22:07 on 10 Sep 2008

I agree - Jaadu is a great way to connect with an iPod or iPhone!

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Comment 4
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00:41 on 13 Sep 2008

yeah but still doesn't do video

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Comment 5
neutral
epgomez 02:49 on 23 Sep 2008

Another option to be able to view flash is to get rid of the iphone. just get the htc touch hd or the other touch screen phones. Even my nokia n82 can display flash. Too bad I have to put down my iphone just to watch the news on the net. In a couple of months a lot of touch cellphones with better cameras and capablilities and with flash support will penetrate the market. Iphone will be left out if they continue to ignore flash.

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