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I need to use my iPad 2 to look at product websites, and most of them require Adobe Flash Player to enable you to see the products. This is incompatible with iPad so is there an alternative, where can I get it, and how much does it cost?

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Adobe Reader will not affect which websites you can use; it's for reading documents. Adobe Flash is the technology that makes some websites not work with iOS devices. – Nathan Greenstein♦ Jan 7 '12 at 1:30

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There is no app in iOS or the App Store that will allow you to see Flash-only or Flash-heavy websites. Having said that, websites all around are slowly switching to using alternatives to Flash that are iPad-compatible, so you should run into this problem less and less as times goes by. Hope this helps.

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Actually there is an app that provides kind of a work-around for flash on iOS: Skyfire Wikipedia quote «Skyfire is a web browser which operates by rendering requested web page on a proprietary server. Rendered output is relayed to the browser (running on the end user's mobile phone), which displays the content.» – iolsmit Jan 6 '12 at 21:20
I was not familiar with Skyfire. It sounds very similar to the Opera Mobile architecture (on which Opera also acts as middleman). The problem I see with these browsers, and the reason I did not consider them on my answer, is that realistically it is not the same to pre-render an ad and then send it along than to offer all the programmed functionality on an interactive Flash plugin (I am thinking of things like video, pop-up menus, slideshows, games). For all practical purposes, Flash is pretty much unusable on middleman scenarios like these unless it is a pretty basic Flash plugin. – Christian Correa Jan 6 '12 at 21:29
Right, it's a very limited work-around. Mainly for watching videos. Apparently it also features Silverlight. But actually I haven't tried it myself. – iolsmit Jan 6 '12 at 22:50
IMHO Skyfire is not worth trying. – mspasov Apr 6 '12 at 13:04
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Try Puffin Web Browser. It is designed for Flash,and I play Flash games in it.

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How does it work? – Mark May 22 at 14:44

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I have to disagree with Christian's answer. There is an app in the iOS app store called iSwifter. From the description of the app:

iSwifter Flash Browser unlocks your favorite Flash content on your iPad, letting you view videos, Flash websites, and best of all, interactive Flash applications...

I've used it and it works as advertised. However, it only works with the iPad. Also, the app is free, but there is a 10 (?) hour limit and after the 10 hours is up, you have to buy the "pro version" for $4.99.

Another app is Skyfire, which allows you:

to gain access to Flash video on their mobile devices! (*Skyfire Does NOT support Flash Websites, Apps or Games - Just tons of great Flash videos across the web!)

I have not used Skyfire, so I don't really know exactly how it works. However, it does provide some level of support for viewing Flash content on an iOS device.

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