Microsoft is opening a new battlefield against Adobe when it comes to the company’s Flash competitor, Silverlight – the iPhone.

Microsoft is reportedly very interested in pushing Silverlight on Apple’s devices. But it’s well known that Apple dictates and controls what software runs on the iPhone, so even a company with the clout of MS may be out of luck.

Silverlight hasn’t been that successful even in the PC market, so the odds of a big push to get it onto mobile platforms may not be very successful. Flash is ultra-popular and will be hard to displace in its niche, even with the push of of a megacorp like MS.