(Dow Jones)- Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) has begun work to create a media player destined for Apple Inc.'s (AAPL) iPhone, Chief Executive Shantanu Narayen said Tuesday, thus adding a new wrinkle to a standoff between the two long-term partners.

In comments widely reported last month, Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs said the company's iPhone hadn't adopted Adobe's mobile version of its Flash program because of technical and performance concerns. At the time, he suggested Adobe work on a new version of the player.

On Tuesday, when asked about the issue during a conference call with investors, Narayen said the company had since obtained the software developer tools Apple released last month. The tools will let Adobe build a Flash player for the iPhone, then distribute it through Apple's iTunes online store, he said.

"We believe Flash is synonymous with the Internet experience, and we are committed to bringing Flash to the iPhone," Narayen said. "We have evaluated ( the software developer tools) and we think we can develop an iPhone Flash player ourselves."

The tools Adobe is using are part of a broader effort by Apple to entice third-party developers to build and distribute iPhone software add-ons. An Apple spokeswoman didn't have an immediate comment.

Adobe's first quarter results show its been doing fine without the iPhone. During its first quarter, a record-breaking 100 million new cell phone devices were distributed that had Flash on board. Also, Microsoft (MSFT), which sells a cell phone operating system, recently licensed Adobe's flash player for phones.

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