Flash is faster and much more efficient than HTML5 on mobile phones, that is if Web developer Christopher Black’s conclusions hold water.

Black says, “HTML5 will sit side by side with Flash. Gradient fonts, drop shadows, basic video and simple transitions are probably better suited for HTML5. When it comes to rendering display objects, animation and digital rights management for video, it would be silly not to use Flash.”

Black bases his statements on benchmark tests on both iOS and Android devices. The test suit plays the same animation on an iPod touch, an iPhone 4, and a Nexus One using HTML5, and then again using Flash 10.1 on the Nexus One. Here’s a video of the test:

As for the results?, They’re pretty self-explanatory. 22FPS for the iPhone 4G, 24FPS for the iPod Touch 4, 40FPS for the Nexus One running HTML5, and 57 FPS for the Nexus One running Flash. Note that while these tests do not represent real world performance, the benchmarks do give a clear indication of the performance of both Flash and HTML5 on both iOS and Android.

If you want to see the results in action, see the video above, and if you want to run the test on your own device(s) navigate to these pages: HTML5 versus Flash.

source Christopher Black