Will Adobe/Macromedia Merger Effect Handset Prices?

Manuel Morales, a spokesman from Japan-based Access, said that Adobe and Macromedia are expected to shift their approach to collecting royalties. “Flash is free on the desktop so Macromedia has made their money selling new versions and upgrades to its application development tools,” Morales said. “In the mobile space, the common method is to charge royalties by the number of handsets deploying the technology.”
“Morales said both companies could turn the opportunity into a profit maker but need to be wary of work itself into a corner. “What it does is drive up the price of handsets, which should come down if the market matures. We are seeing large pick up in Korea and Japan, as well as in the United States with Verizon’s high-speed network in the mobile market coming online.”
I don’t think the cost of the licence will effect the price of handsets too much, but — along with the stoush over the level at which MPEG LA set its licences — it does point to an interesting trend. In many cases the software on a computer costs almost as much as the computer itself, and I’m curious as to whether this will be replicated in the mobile world. I don’t mean content, or even specialized applications, but software that is required to view content. It’s a different situation — computers are sold independant of ISPs, for example, while most mobiles are sold through mobile carriers.
Related stories:
Adobe Buys Macromedia: Mobile Implications?

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