Rathores blog

If your favourite site or online games uses Flash, then iSwifter may be the answer.

It's no secret that Steve Jobs saw the future of the internet as one based around HTML5, CSS and other open standards; one reason for this is the power drain caused to mobile devices when using applications that place a heavy load on the processor. For whatever reason, the iPad and iPhone have not been compatible with Adobe's Flash standard since they were launched.

Unfortunately, there are a great number of websites on the internet that still use Flash, including some corporate websites, video streaming services and a fair number of games. Is there a way for the iPad to access these?

Fortunately, the answer is yes. iSwifter is a web browser for the iPad that allows full access to many Flash-based sites. It's not perfect, but you'll find very quickly that the end result is usable and good enough for you to enjoy your game, video or time on the internet.

Step-By-Step Guide: How to Play Videos or Flash Games on iPad

Around 90 per cent of our online activity involves searching through websites, the majority of which contain video. If the video is from YouTube, the iPad's dedicated player should kick in. With iSwifter, you can play Flash-based video content within the web page.

Flash can provide a quick and easy means of producing portfolio websites or, in this instance, an advertisement for a private vehicle sale. iSwifter correctly displays the website, though unfortunately the email link icon won't open up in the Mail application.

Some websites use Flash animations and Flash videos on homepage. iSwifter displays these without effort. If you wish to stop the video playing, you can do so by touching it (just as you would click the video on a desktop computer).

Games such as PopCap's Bejeweled are available as downloads from the App Store, but started as web-based games via the firm's website (www.popcap.com). You can now play these Flash-based games on your iPad thanks to iSwifter. The response is a little slow, but still playable.

Facebook games and apps also using flash, without iSwifter you can not play facebook games on your ipad or iphone.

Flash-based chat clients, such as Penguin Chat, appear to work. You should note, though, that the iPad's onscreen keyboard doesn't recognise a text box when it's been implemented in Flash, so you'll need an external wireless keyboard.

Having Flash available on your iPad will not bring everything Flash-based to your tablet. Some of the games at www.arcadepanic.com, for example, rely on a mouse to be truly playable and don't adapt well to touchscreen control.