BANGALORE, INDIA: Adobe Systems Incorporated, today announced that beta versions of Adobe AIR 2 and Adobe Flash Player 10.1 software are now available from Adobe Labs for Windows, Mac and Linux operating systems.

Flash Player 10.1 is also available for x86-based netbooks, and expected to be available across a broad spectrum of smartphones and other Internet-connected devices in 2010, said a press release.

Adobe AIR 2 and Flash Player 10.1 can be updated across all supported platforms to help ensure rapid adoption of new innovations that move the Web forward.

With Adobe AIR 2, developers can create more reliable and feature-rich applications in the desktop context, and they can easily add AIR 2 functionality to update current AIR 1.0 applications. New AIR 2 features include enhanced support for mass storage devices and native application processes, as well as peer-to-peer and UDP networking.

Flash Player 10.1 takes advantage of new media delivery options using HTTP streaming coupled with content protection powered by Adobe Flash Access 2.0. Additionally, it also leverages hardware decoding of H.264 video on Windows PCs, netbooks and mobile devices where available, to conserve battery life and deliver an exceptional video playback experience.

“With the beta availability of Adobe AIR 2 and Flash Player 10.1 today, we are taking an important step toward realizing the Open Screen Project vision to enable rich Internet experiences across any device, anywhere,” said David Wadhwani, general manager and vice president, Platform Business Unit at Adobe.

He further added that content creators will provide multi-screen experiences with un-compromised Web browsing and standalone applications across desktops and netbooks, and in the near future across a wide range of mobile devices.”