Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen has hit back at comments from Apple’s Steve Jobs this week that accused Adobe’s Flash software of being unsuitable for mobile devices. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Narayen described Jobs’ attack as a “smoke screen” designed to enable Apple to keep control over the software used on its devices such as the iPhone and iPad. “It’s clear that it has nothing to do with technology,” he said. In a rare move, Jobs had earlier in the week written a lengthy essay highlighting why Apple was continuing with its strategy of not supporting Flash on its products. “Flash was created during the PC era—for PCs and mice,” wrote Jobs. “The mobile era is about low power devices, touch interfaces and open Web standards—all areas where Flash falls short.” He also claimed that Flash shortens a mobile’s battery life and creates security problems. “[Flash] doesn’t benefit Apple and that’s why you see this reaction,” countered Adobe’s Narayen.

The Wall Street Journal separately reported this week that Apple is aiming to charge close to US$1 million for premium advertising slots on its new iAd platform. According to sources, Apple has indicated it could charge as much as US$10 million to be part of a handful of marketers at the launch. Ad executives say they are used to paying between US$100,000 and US$200,000 for similar mobile deals. Ads are likely to start appearing in applications on its iPhone and iPod Touch devices in June, and its iPad later in the year, according to a person familiar with the matter. An Apple spokeswoman said the company will sell and serve the ads, but declined further comment except to reiterate that app developers will receive 60 percent of the revenue with Apple getting the other 40 percent. The report notes that discussions over possible deals are ongoing but several ad executives said they are beginning to prepare creative ideas for campaigns.