Android 2.2 Froyo to Bring Flash Support According to Andy Rubin

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While certain mobile platform will not have Flash support anytime soon, and I do mean the iPhone OS and the new Windows Phone 7, it looks like Android lovers will be able to experience the full Internet as God left it on Earth, with plenty of Flash in it, soon. According to Andy Rubin, vice president for engineering at Google, Android 2.2 or Froyo is going to come with Flash later this year.

While he did not comment on the actual development of Froyo he apparently “promised that full support for Adobe’s Flash standard was coming in the next version of Android, code-named Froyo.” I hope he pinky-swore that Flash is coming but, we already know that’s happening thanks to Adobe’s CEO that made it very clear just a few weeks ago.

Andy Rubin went well beyond that when talking about Google’s Android with the NYT’s reporter. He referred to Apple, Google’s main competitor at this time in various businesses and he did compare closed platforms like Apple’s iPhone OS to totalitarian governments:

When they can’t have something, people do care. Look at the way politics work. I just don’t want to live in North Korea.

Wait a second, did Google just called Apple, North Korea? Whether it’s a fair response or not, we’ll still have to recall how Steve Jobs did take numerous hits at Google’s Android system when claiming that “folks who want porn can buy an Android phone.” Maybe it’s time Google hit back.

Andy Rubin also commented on the fact that Google is interested in pushing both Android and Chrome as potential tablet operating systems, but didn’t reveal any launch dates at this point:

I don’t know if there will be Chrome and Android tablets, but if a consumer walks into store and two of those tablets are my company’s choices, I’m all good.

Last but not least he did say that leaving an Android prototype in a bar might be a fairly interesting idea for Google, not that it will happen anytime soon:

I’d be happy if that happened and someone wrote about it. With openness comes less secrets.

Moving past the snappy remarks we can only conclude that Android is growing fast and it will pose a serious threat to the iPhone and everyone else in the smartphone business.