If there's one reason that Apple would want Flash, it's the self-propagated image the iPhone is the only device that gives you the whole Internet, not just a watered-down version like other mobile browsers, despite the fact that . 

For the moment, though, there appears to be no pressing reason for Flash on the iPhone. If there were scads of prominent Web sites that were only available in Flash, Apple might find itself tempted to acquiesce, but with the preponderance of sites specifically tuned for the iPhone and the lack of vocal Flash proponents beyond Adobe itself, Apple has little incentive to bend over backward for what, in the end, may be a bigger help to Adobe. 

Editor-at-large Jim Dalrymple contributed to this report.