Adobe pushes Creative Suite up half a notch

Stephen Withers
Monday, 11 April 2011 17:15

Business IT - Technology

Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 is about to arrive with a motley collection of new features.

Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 finally includes Acrobat X, the previous exclusion of which caused a storm of protest from users aggrieved at being asked to pay extra for when it was released a matter of weeks after they shelled out serious amounts of money for CS5.

That raises the question of whether Adobe's more concerned about providing its users with additional functionality or improving its cash flow. The answer could be 'both', although the company has extended subscription pricing, previously introduced in Australia, to the rest of the world to help ease the financial pain.

CS5.5 includes new versions of Flash, Flash Catalyst, InDesign, Dreamweaver, Premiere Pro, After Effects, Audition, Device Central, and Media Encoder.

The focus is largely on producing mobile apps for Android, BlackBerry Playbook and iOS devices, and Flash content for the growing number of Flash-enabled phones, TVs and other devices. The updated package also includes features intended to improve workflows, including new tools for driving workflows from iPads.

"Creative Suite 5.5 will drive the development of new digital experiences across devices, including all major smartphones and tablets," said Shantanu Narayen, Adobe's president and chief executive officer.

How much, and when? See page 2.