Flash to hit Android 3.0 “a few weeks” after launch

The Motorola Xoom will be the first tablet to arrive with Android 3.0, but it looks like it won’t immediately support Flash.

Google has been pushing the latest version of its Android software for tablets, promising full Flash support. Apple, on the other hand, has famously prevented iOS devices, such as the iPad, from playing Flash content.

However, the Motorola Xoom, the first Android 3.0 tablet, won’t support Flash until later this spring, according to a note on the site of US operator Verizon.

Adobe evangelist Matt Rozen said Flash 10.2 will be available as an over-the-air download “within a few weeks of Android 3 (Honeycomb) devices becoming available.” Some tablets arriving after that time will have Flash pre-installed, he added.

“Consumers are clearly asking for Flash support on tablet devices and the good news is that they won’t have to wait long,” Rozen noted in a post on the Adobe Flash blog. “We are aware of over 50 tablets that will ship in 2011 supporting a full web experience (including Flash support) and Xoom users will be among the first to enjoy this benefit.”

While the tablet arrives in the US this week, it isn’t expected to arrive in the UK until the second quarter of the year.