Adobe gets Creative with its Suites

Adobe has brought together its own apps and those it acquired with Macromedia in Creative Suite 3, a toolkit which it said will suit designers and developers working in all facets of print, web, mobile, interactive, film, and video production.

"This release reflects the powerful integration between Adobe and Macromedia, and how our products bridge the gap between designers and developers," claimed Adobe boss Bruce Chizen. "With new workflows that streamline collaboration and impact the development of rich content, designers and developers now have the creative licence to engage audiences across virtually every medium."

Four Creative Suite editions will be available next month: Design Premium, Design Standard, Web Premium and Web Standard, while two more - Production Premium and Adobe Creative Suite 3 Master Collection, will not be available until later in the year. Most editions will be available for both Intel-based and PowerPC Macs and for PCs running Windows XP or Vista, Adobe said.

The various suites include different combinations and versions of Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, Flash Professional, Dreamweaver, Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects. Components common to all the suites includes Adobe Device Central, which is aimed at developers working on content for mobile handsets, and an updated version of Adobe Bridge, which provides access to Version Cue, Acrobat Connect, and an expanded Adobe Stock Photos service.

Adobe said that the bundles would range in price from $1,799 for Web Premium (upggrade $440) to $2499 (upgrade $1,399) for the top-of-the-line Master Collection, which includes all 12 of its design and development applications. UK prices are even steeper, £1195 for Premium and to £1969 for Master Collection. We assume that large discounts are in store for big customers. ®