Adobe Systems has released in four packages the next generation of its design and Web applications.
Adobe Creative Suite 3 Design Premium and Design Standard, and Adobe Creative Suite 3 Web Premium and Web Standard became available on Monday in versions for PowerPC and Intel chip-based Macs, as well as for Microsoft Windows XP and Vista PCs.
All four packages include new versions of Bridge and Version Cue for content management, Stock Photos for stock art and Acrobat Connect for Web conferencing. Device Central, which emulates how designs will play on mobile devices, is also included.
The premium edition of Creative Suite 3 Design, which consumers can buy for about AU$3,119 or upgrade to for AU$1,039, comes with new versions of InDesign, Photoshop Extended, Illustrator, Flash Professional, Dreamweaver and Acrobat 8 Professional. The standard edition, which can be bought for about AU$2,079 or upgraded to for AU$689, comes with the standard version of Photoshop instead of Photoshop Extended, and it does not include Flash Professional or Dreamweaver.
While the premium version of Adobe Creative Suite 3 Web, which includes new versions of Dreamweaver, Flash Professional, Fireworks, Contribute, Photoshop Extended, Illustrator, and Acrobat 8 Professional, can be bought for AU$2,775 or upgraded to for AU$865, the standard edition can be bought for AU$1,735 or upgraded to for AU$689.
The standard package offers the same set of applications as the premium version for Web building, but it does not include any versions of Photoshop, Illustrator or Acrobat.
The video-focused CS3 Production packages and the CS3 Master Collection, which includes applications from the premium versions of the design, Web and production suites, are not yet available.
Adobe is expected to release Media Player, an application for playing Flash videos offline, later this week at the National Association of Broadcasters Show in Las Vegas. Microsoft announced a Web browser plug-in media player called Silverlight and a new tool for managing digital content on Monday at the conference.
Consumers can compare the Creative Suite 3 editions on Adobe's Australian Web site.
