Facebook Converts to HTML5; Now Plays Videos on iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch

New videos on Facebook should finally work on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch using the mobile safari browser as Facebook finally started encoding videos in h264 format. So far Facebook videos did not play on iPhone OS devices as Facebook used Adobe’s Flash, which is not supported.

According to Sarah Perez from ReadWriteWeb, new videos added to Facebook are now being encoded in h264 format that can be played natively on the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. However, unlike an HTML5 experience where videos can be played from within the mobile Safari browser, Facebook is providing a link to the video that are loaded in full screen mode, a very similar method to the way iPhone OS devices open YouTube videos. A Facebook representative has told TechCrunch that the company might consider using HTML5 in the future. Despite Facebook’s decision to make it’s web service more iPad friendly, there is still no official word on a dedicated Facebook app for iPad users. MG Seigler, a Facebook representative noted that the company does not have “anything to announce” at this point.

Facebook’s decision to encode videos in h264 is another big blow to Adobe in its attempt to retain the relevance of Flash. This all coming after the successful launch of the iPad in the US, a lot of media companies, including Hulu and The New York Times, have been working on alternate iPad friendly versions of their websites. Adobe’s argument that its platform is ubiquitous on the web may soon become an irrelevant one.