Adobe Systems has signed agreement to acquire Nitobi Software, the creator of PhoneGap and PhoneGap Build.
PhoneGap is an open source platform for building cross-platform mobile applications with HTML5 and JavaScript. With the help of the Nitobi open source platform, developers are provided with the choice of two offerings for cross-platform development of native mobile apps: using HTML5 and JavaScript with PhoneGap and the second offering is using Adobe Flash with Adobe AIR, said Adobe.
Adobe added that many applications were built using PhoneGap which are available in mobile app stores that span devices based on Android, iOS, BlackBerry and other operating systems.
Adobe Platform vice-president and general manager Danny Winokur said PhoneGap has proven to be an industry-defining app offering for HTML5 developers.
"PhoneGap is a fantastic solution for developing a broad range of mobile apps using the latest Web standards, and is already integrated with Dreamweaver® CS5.5. It’s a perfect complement to Adobe’s broad family of developer solutions, including Adobe AIR, and will allow us to continue to provide content publishers and developers with the best, cutting-edge solutions for creating innovative applications across platforms and devices," said Winokur.
Nitobi chief executive officer Andre Charland said Adobe has always been a big supporter of the open source community and at the forefront of enabling Web based applications across screens.
"We share the same philosophy about enabling extraordinary mobile and Web applications. Becoming part of the Adobe family with its industry-leading tools and technologies opens up amazing new opportunities for PhoneGap and our customers," added Charland.
Adobe has also released its third public preview of Adobe Edge, the new HTML5 motion and interaction design tool. The new release enables content creators to deliver a new level of visual richness to HTML5-only websites and mobile apps.
Adobe said it has extended the existing tools like Adobe Dreamweaver and Flash Professional to bring the next generation of Web standards to designers and developers. In addition, Adobe has released the new CSS3 Mobile Pack for Adobe Fireworks to enable designers to extract CSS3 from their design elements in Fireworks and add them to their HTML based websites and mobile applications.
The company has also released jQuery Mobile 1.0, a touch-optimised open source JavaScript framework and along with this release will be a new version of ThemeRoller, which Adobe has rebuilt from the ground up to enable users to design custom jQuery user interface themes for tight integration in mobile Web projects.
Adobe has introduced a new proposal to the W3C, co-edited with other W3C members, called CSS Shaders that brings cinematic visual effects to HTML.
