Adobe Photoshop Touch Apps Integrate iPad (And Eventually Other Tablets) Into Famous Art Software

Adobe may not be quite ready to release Photoshop for iPad, as previewed last month, but it has looked to the iPad for extra functionality when it comes to the latest version of Photoshop in Creative Suite 5.5. Three new iOS apps for the iPad have been released – Adobe Color Lava for Photoshop, Adobe Eazel for Photoshop and Adobe Nav for Photoshop – turning the Apple tablet into a remote control panel for the graphics software. Each uses Adobe's new Touch SDK.

Adobe Color Lava handles custom color creation, using the tablet to make new swatches and themes that can then be pulled back into the main app. Adobe Eazel is basically finger-painting for grown-ups, with various software trickery to make your daubings look like real paint. Both apps work either directly linked to Photoshop or as standalone tools that can be later sync'd.

Finally, Adobe Nav pushes navigation and control off of your main computer screen and onto the iPad, with customizable toolbars and the ability to handle up to 200 open Photoshop files. The three apps will go on sale in early May 2011, priced between $1.99 and $4.99.

As for Adobe's Touch SDK, that will work not only with the iPad but with Android, QNX as on the BlackBerry PlayBook, and iOS on the iPhone and iPod touch, giving developers a new way to integrate mobile devices (and mobile apps) with Photoshop. The company claims it has already signed up a number of developers to create apps, so we should be seeing the third-party spoils later in the year.

Press Release:

Adobe Photoshop CS5 Integrates Tablets into Creative Workflows

New Touch SDK Kick-Starts the Development of Interactive Tablet Apps that Communicate Directly with Photoshop CS5

SAN JOSE, Calif. — April 11, 2011 — Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today announced the Photoshop® Touch Software Development Kit (SDK) inviting developers worldwide to create mobile and tablet applications that interact with Adobe® Photoshop CS5 and Photoshop CS5 Extended software, uniting the fun and interactive experience of touch devices with the power and precision of Photoshop. The Photoshop Touch SDK and a new scripting engine in Photoshop CS5 now opens the door for Android™, BlackBerry Tablet OS and iOS apps to drive and interact with Photoshop on the desktop. Adobe today also launched Creative Suite® 5.5, a significant mid-cycle release to the industry-leading design and development software for virtually every creative workflow across print, video, mobile and online media (see separate press releases).

Using the Touch SDK, Adobe has developed three initial Photoshop CS5 companion apps for Apple iPad: Adobe Color Lava for Photoshop, Adobe Eazel for Photoshop and Adobe Nav for Photoshop. The apps are designed to enable users to create custom color swatches, paint and drive popular Photoshop tools from tablet devices.

"Our research shows that creatives are adopting tablets faster than any other group and we heard loud and clear that they want to use their devices to interact with Photoshop, the tool they depend on most of all," said John Loiacono, senior vice president and general manager, Digital Media Solutions, Adobe. "The apps that we announced today show some of the creative ways tablets can work with Photoshop and over the next few months Photoshop's vibrant developer community is going to dazzle us with innovative apps that further integrate tablet devices into creative workflows."

Photoshop SDK Encourages Creative Development

Adobe has developed three initial Photoshop Touch apps: Adobe Color Lava, Adobe Eazel and Adobe Nav. Adobe Color Lava, allows creative professionals to use their fingertips to mix colors on the iPad, creating custom color swatches and themes to transfer back into Photoshop. Adobe Eazel, which takes advantage of cutting-edge painting technology, lets digital artists create rich realistic paintings with their fingertips and introduces a new kind of interaction between "wet" and "dry" paints. These paintings can then be sent directly to Photoshop CS5 for compositing or for taking the artwork further. Lastly, Adobe Nav increases workflow efficiency by letting users select and control Photoshop tools using the iPad as the input surface, customize the toolbar, browse and zoom in on up to 200 open Photoshop files or easily create new files. All three applications take advantage of the iPad tablet's touch screen for a truly immersive, tactile, on-the-go experience. While the first applications available are for the Apple iPad and the iOS, the Photoshop Touch SDK makes development possible on other devices, including Android and BlackBerry PlayBook.

Utilizing the Touch SDK, developers will have wide access to Photoshop functionality with the freedom to innovate and create new apps or add capabilities to existing ones. Adobe has already engaged with a number of developers across the industry to incorporate tablets and other devices into creative workflows that empower Photoshop users in new and groundbreaking ways.

Pricing and Availability

Developers can access the free Adobe Photoshop Touch SDK today for Windows and Mac OS platforms on the Adobe Application Manager at www.adobe.com/devnet/photoshop. Current Photoshop CS5 customers can experience the value of the connection to devices by downloading and installing a free patch available on www.adobe.com or via the Adobe Application Manager, beginning May 3, 2011. The Adobe Color Lava, Adobe Eazel and Adobe Nav applications for Photoshop are also expected to be available in early May 2011, ranging in price from US$1.99-$4.99, on the iTunes App Store. For more information or to sign up to be notified when the apps become available for purchase, visit www.photoshop.com.

Adobe Photoshop CS5 and CS5 Extended are available through Adobe Authorized Resellers, the Adobe Store and Adobe Direct Sales. Estimated street price for Adobe Photoshop CS5 is US$699 and US$999 for Photoshop CS5 Extended.

Today, with the launch of Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 product family, Adobe also announced a new flexible subscription-based pricing plan. With subscription pricing customers can use Adobe Photoshop for as little as US$35 per month. For more information about Subscription Editions, visit www.adobe.com/go/cssubscription.

Press Release:

Adobe Introduces Creative Suite 5.5 Product Line

Significant Mid-Cycle Product Release Delivers Essential Innovation Across Flash, HTML5, Video, Mobile App and Digital Publishing Tools; Company Introduces New Subscription Payment Plan and Brings Tablets into Creative Workflows

SAN JOSE, Calif., — April 11, 2011 — Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today announced the new Adobe® Creative Suite® 5.5 product line (see separate releases), enabling designers and developers to target popular and emerging smartphone and tablet platforms, as the revolution in mobile communications fundamentally changes the way content is distributed and consumed. Substantive advances to HTML5, Flash authoring, digital publishing and video tools as well as new capabilities that kick-start the integration of tablets into creative workflows, anchor the new Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 product family.

This launch marks a major change to Adobe's product release strategy for Creative Suite, the industry-leading design and development software for virtually every creative workflow across print, video, mobile and online media. Adobe now plans to have milestone Creative Suite product introductions at 24-month intervals and – starting with Creative Suite 5.5 – significant mid-cycle releases designed to keep the worldwide creative community ahead of the latest advances in content authoring.

Today also sees Adobe debut an affordable and flexible subscription-based pricing plan, attractive to customers that want to get current and stay current on Creative Suite products, have project-based needs, or try the software for the first time. New Subscription Editions ensure customers are always working with the most up-to-date versions of the software, without the upfront cost of full pricing. With subscription pricing customers can use flagship products, such as Adobe Photoshop® for as little as US$35 per month, Adobe Design Premium CS5.5 for US$95 per month, Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 Master Collection for US$129 per month.

"Creative Suite 5.5 will drive the development of new digital experiences across devices, including all major smartphones and tablets," said Shantanu Narayen, president and chief executive officer, Adobe. "As publishers, media companies, advertisers and enterprises transform the way they develop and distribute their content, Adobe will be there to support them with technology innovations in content creation, management, measurement and distribution."

Mobile Development for Android, BlackBerry Tablet OS

and iOS

The new Creative Suite 5.5 Web Premium Suite (see separate release) is packed with innovations in HTML5 and Adobe Flash authoring tools, empowering customers to create, deliver and monetize rich content and applications for virtually any screen. This release helps enable designers and developers to deliver mobile applications on Android™, BlackBerry® Tablet OS, iOS and other platforms; create rich browser-based content across screens using HTML5; and leverage Flash Player to deliver premium video content, casual games and rich Internet applications. Creative Suite 5.5 comes at a time when mobile devices are exploding in terms of sales and capabilities; radically altering the way content and applications are developed and consumed. With the launch of Adobe Flash® Builder™ 4.5 Premium (available in Creative Suite 5.5 Web Premium) and the Flex® 4.5 framework, developers can easily develop and deploy mobile applications to more than 200 million smartphones and tablets by the end of 2011.

Flash Enabled Devices on the Rise

With more than 131 million smartphones expected to have Flash Player installed by the end of the year, Adobe Flash makes it possible to bring rich content to desktops and devices inside the browser. Flash Player is supported on Android, HP webOS and Google TV today. BlackBerry Tablet OS, upcoming versions of Windows Phone, Samsung SmartTVs and others are expected to support Flash Player in the near future. For more information about the Adobe Flash Platform, visit: www.adobe.com/flashplatform.

Access Latest Advances in Digital Publishing

Creative Suite 5.5 Design Premium Suite (see separate release) builds upon Adobe's recent product innovations in digital publishing, already deployed by some of the world's leading magazine and business publishers to create stunning digital editions for tablet devices. Using Adobe InDesign® CS5.5, in combination with the integrated Folio Producer toolset, designers can add new levels of interactivity to their page layouts targeted to tablet devices. Documents can include video, audio, panoramic views, 360-degree object rotation, pan and zoom of images, integration of HTML and HTML5 content and other interactive overlays, leading to a much more robust and engaging reading experience. Creative Suite 5.5 complements Adobe Digital Publishing Suite to support publication, sale and analysis of content on an array of tablet devices.

Integrating Tablet Devices into Creative Workflows

With today's announcements, Adobe is extending the creative process beyond the desktop by helping integrate tablet devices into creative workflows. The new Adobe Photoshop Touch Software Development Kit (SDK) enables developers to build tablet applications that interact with Photoshop from Android, BlackBerry PlayBook and iOS devices. Adobe also announced three new iPad applications that demonstrate the creative possibilities of using tablets to drive common Photoshop workflows – Adobe Color Lava for Photoshop, Adobe Eazel for Photoshop and Adobe Nav for Photoshop (see separate press release).‡

Powerful New Video Capabilities

For video and audio professionals, Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 Production Premium Suite (see separate release) delivers breakthrough performance, workflow improvements, creative innovations and powerful new audio editing capabilities that build upon the huge customer momentum Production Premium is experiencing with broadcasters, filmmakers and video professionals worldwide. In just one of the innovations, the powerful Adobe Mercury Playback Engine, introduced in Adobe Premiere® Pro CS5, broadens its graphics processing unit (GPU) hardware support to include laptops and more supported cards, allowing users to open projects faster, get real-time feedback and work more smoothly at higher resolutions.

Accelerate and Optimize Creative Workflows

Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 products integrate with Adobe CS Live*†, a set of online services that accelerate key aspects of the creative workflow and enable designers to focus on creating their best work. CS Live online services include: Adobe BrowserLab; Adobe CS Review; Acrobat.com; Adobe Story; and Adobe SiteCatalyst® NetAverages™.

The new Creative Suite product lineup is headlined by Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 Master Collection, which includes, in a single package, all of Adobe's industry-defining creative tools, such as Photoshop, Illustrator®, InDesign, Acrobat®, Flash Builder, Flash Catalyst®, Flash Professional, Dreamweaver®, Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects®. These products are available separately or as components of one or more of the five Creative Suite editions. The complete Creative Suite 5 lineup includes Creative Suite 5.5 Master Collection, Creative Suite 5.5 Design Premium, Creative Suite 5.5 Web Premium, Creative Suite 5.5 Production Premium and Creative Suite 5.5 Design Standard.

Pricing and Availability

Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 products are scheduled to ship within 30 days, with availability through Adobe Authorized Resellers, the Adobe Store at www.adobe.com/store in North America and Adobe Direct Sales. Estimated street price for the suites is expected to be US$2599 for CS5.5 Master Collection, US$1899 for CS5.5 Design Premium, US$1799 for CS5.5 Web Premium, US$1699 for CS5.5 Production Premium and US$1299 for CS5.5 Design Standard. Upgrade pricing and volume licensing are available.