Adobe Systems Incorporated and Canadian mobile phone maker Research In Motion have announced today at the worldwide developer conference Adobe MAX that the handset vendor has joined forces with the Open Screen Project and that it will work together with Adobe to bring Adobe Flash Player to BlackBerry smartphones.

The Adobe Flash Platform, as many of you might already know, is aimed at delivering a richer Web browsing experience on mobile phones, televisions, desktops and other consumer electronics devices, as well as at enabling standalone applications on these products. The new collaboration between Adobe and RIM should deliver the full Flash Player browser runtime to the vendor's BlackBerry devices sometime next year, though no date has been offered so far.

“As an industry leader for innovative smartphones and wireless solutions, RIM delivers superior mobile user experiences to customers around the world,” said David Wadhwani, general manager and vice president, Flash Platform Business Unit at Adobe. “It’s a natural fit for both companies to work together to bring Flash technology based video and Web content to BlackBerry smartphone users.”

There are more than 50 industry leaders that work together within the Open Screen Project, Adobe notes, adding that they are focused on providing a consistent runtime environment over a variety of consumer electronics products. Companies like Microsoft, HTC, Nokia, Palm or Motorola are already part of the initiative, and through their collaboration with Adobe they will deliver the Flash Player to those using mobile phones developed by them or running under their mobile platforms.

“As part of the Open Screen Project, RIM will be working with Adobe to deliver a great Flash technology experience on BlackBerry smartphones and to enable users to enjoy the exciting content and services that Flash technology developers and content creators are bringing to the Web,” said Alan Brenner, SVP at Research In Motion.