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Yesterday, Adobe finally took the wraps off its Retina versions of Photoshop and Illustrator CS6, and now the company is continuing its announcements at the CreateNow event with the introduction of a major update to its Creative Cloud service. To kick things off, Adobe announced new features for Creative Cloud users with perhaps the most notable being “access to over a dozen exclusive new features for Adobe Photoshop.”
On top of the new features, Adobe is also unveiling a new “Creative Cloud for teams” service, showing off new Creative Cloud features of Adobe Muse, as well as launching Creative Cloud Connection to allow “desktop synching and collaborative sharing.” In its press release announcing the features, Adobe also shared some stats for the service that is now home to more than 1 million free and paid members—326,000, of which, are paying members.
Among the new Photoshop features available to Creative Cloud users:
· Immediate support for HiDPI (Retina) displays for Apple MacBook Pro. This feature was also made available to perpetual license customers as a free update.
· Smart Object support for Blur Gallery and Liquify.
· The ability to quickly export CSS code for text and objects, and import color swatches to easily design incredible websites.
· New workflow timesavers including Crop tool refinements.
· 3D enhancements including improved live (OpenGL) previews of shadow effects and additional control over illumination using 32-bit color picker to create glow effects.
· Conditional Actions that automatically select the appropriate Action based on user-defined rules, giving users enhanced image processing speed.
One of the bigger announcements, Creative Cloud for teams, will provide users with same Creative Cloud service plus the following team-oriented features: “easy management of virtual workgroups, 100GB of cloud storage per user (versus 20GB for the individual Creative Cloud offering), expert support services, centralized administration for the quick and easy deployment of new seats, and centralized billing and efficient license management.”
Adobe walked us through the new Creative Cloud Connection desktop sync app, updates to Adobe Muse, and Cloud Training tutorials:
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Also added is Creative Cloud Connection, a desktop sync app, which allows users to automatically sync files to a Creative Cloud account by saving files to the desktop folder, or simply dragging and dropping. In addition, new exclusive Creative Cloud Training (available to all paid Creative Cloud members soon) offers an extensive library of tutorials and trial courses from renowned training partners, Kelby Training, video2brain and Attain, designed to help make Creative Cloud members successful with the tools and services available to them. These select partners, along with Adobe, will provide training videos for an international Creative Cloud audience in English, Japanese, French, German, Spanish and Italian, with more languages to be added later… Adobe Muse now includes the ability to create unique layouts for desktop, iPhone, iPad and other mobile device versions of a website. Designers can now customize each experience whether the site is viewed on a large monitor while sitting at a desk, or viewing on a small screen while on-the-go.
If you want to see all the announcements and demos for yourself, you can check out Adobe’s CreateNow event online starting at 10 a.m. PST. However, the new Creative Cloud features and Creative Cloud for teams will officially become available at 11 a.m. PST.
After today’s announcements, Creative Cloud members will now have access to the following: Photoshop and Adobe Muse features, Creative Cloud Training, and Creative Cloud Connection, and the ability to purchase Creative Cloud for teams through Adobe.com. The new teams service will be available for $69.99 USD per month (per seat with an annual contract required), but it is available to existing CS3 or later customers for $49.99 USD per month per seat for the first year.
SAN JOSE, Calif. — December 11, 2012 — Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today is revealing a major update to its Adobe® Creative Cloud™ offering. During Create Now, an online event this morning, the company is announcing that Creative Cloud members will now have access to over a dozen exclusive new features for Adobe Photoshop®. Adobe is also highlighting the huge customer momentum behind Creative Cloud, with more than 1 million free and paid memberships, including approximately 326,000* paid individual members who have signed up through November 2012.
Additionally, at the Create Now event, the company is introducing a new version, Creative Cloud for teams, making it easy for creative professionals to collaborate with colleagues; showcasing new capabilities for mobile website design with Adobe Muse™; launching Creative Cloud Connection for desktop synching and collaborative sharing; debuting Creative Cloud Training, a library of premium instructional video from leading partners; and demonstrating the unlimited access to the Digital Publishing technology used by major publishers to create interactive content for the iPad.
“It’s been remarkable to see over 1 million users join Creative Cloud in just seven months,” said David Wadhwani, senior vice president, Digital Media, Adobe. “Our goal is to make Creative Cloud the ultimate hub for creatives, where they can access the world’s best creative tools, store and collaborate around their work and ultimately showcase their creations. Now with the availability of the new Creative Cloud offering for teams, we’re making it easier for workgroups to create and collaborate.”
Tune in to see the full details unveiled at the Create Now online event at 10 a.m. PT with new Creative Cloud capabilities, including Creative Cloud for teams, available at that time.
New Photoshop CS6 capabilities available to Creative Cloud members, include:
Immediate support for HiDPI (Retina) displays for Apple MacBook Pro. This feature was also made available to perpetual license customers as a free update.
Smart Object support for Blur Gallery and Liquify.
The ability to quickly export CSS code for text and objects, and import color swatches to easily design incredible websites.
New workflow timesavers including Crop tool refinements.
3D enhancements including improved live (OpenGL) previews of shadow effects and additional control over illumination using 32-bit color picker to create glow effects.
Conditional Actions that automatically select the appropriate Action based on user-defined rules, giving users enhanced image processing speed.
New Offering Brings Teams into Creative Cloud
Also available today, Creative Cloud for teams is designed to help creative professionals work better together. Creative Cloud for teams delivers everything that’s included with the individual version of Creative Cloud – all of the same desktop tools, online services for publishing and file sharing, and upgrades and feature updates when they are released. Plus it also includes easy management of virtual workgroups, 100GB of cloud storage per user (versus 20GB for the individual Creative Cloud offering), expert support services, centralized administration for the quick and easy deployment of new seats, and centralized billing and efficient license management.
Other new Creative Cloud additions include an update to Adobe Muse, a desktop app that allows designers to create professional, HTML websites without writing code. Adobe Muse now includes the ability to create unique layouts for desktop, iPhone, iPad and other mobile device versions of a website. Designers can now customize each experience whether the site is viewed on a large monitor while sitting at a desk, or viewing on a small screen while on-the-go.
Also added is Creative Cloud Connection, a desktop sync app, which allows users to automatically sync files to a Creative Cloud account by saving files to the desktop folder, or simply dragging and dropping. In addition, new exclusive Creative Cloud Training (available to all paid Creative Cloud members soon) offers an extensive library of tutorials and trial courses from renowned training partners, Kelby Training, video2brain and Attain, designed to help make Creative Cloud members successful with the tools and services available to them. These select partners, along with Adobe, will provide training videos for an international Creative Cloud audience in English, Japanese, French, German, Spanish and Italian, with more languages to be added later. Also today, Adobe Illustrator was updated to support HiDPI (Retina) displays and this feature was made available to both Creative Cloud members and perpetual license customers.
Digital Publishing Single Edition
During Adobe’s Create Now online event, the company is demonstrating core Creative Cloud capabilities, including Digital Publishing Suite (DPS), Single Edition. DPS, Single Edition significantly simplifies the mobile app development process by enabling designers to create and deliver digital publications to iPad through the Apple App Store, without writing a single line of code. With DPS, Single Edition members can create single-issue content, including brochures, catalogs or personal design portfolios, and submit an unlimited number of apps to the Apple App Store for publication, at no additional cost.This gives freelance designers, design agencies and small-to-midsize businesses easy access to the same core digital publishing technologies that leading publishers worldwide are using.
Pricing and Availability
Adobe Creative Cloud membership for individuals is US$49.99 per month based on annual membership; existing customers who own CS3 or later get their first year of Creative Cloud for individuals at the discounted rate of US $29.99 per month. Students and teachers can get Creative Cloud for $29.99. Creative Cloud for teams is priced at US $69.99 per month per seat with an annual contract required; existing customers who own CS3 or later get their first year of Creative Cloud for teams at the discounted rate of US $49.99 per month per seat. Creative Cloud for teams is available for purchase today on Adobe.com; annual memberships are also available worldwide through a growing network of Adobe certified resellers. The new Photoshop and Adobe Muse features, Creative Cloud Training, and Creative Cloud Connection preview are immediately available to Creative Cloud members.
About Creative Cloud
Adobe Creative Cloud is a membership-based service that provides users with unlimited access to download and install all Adobe Creative Suite® desktop applications, plus other applications including Adobe Photoshop Lightroom®, Adobe Muse, Adobe Edge Tools & Services; game developer tools and integration with the Adobe Touch Apps**. With Creative Cloud membership, users also have access to publishing services to deliver apps and websites, cloud storage and the ability to sync to any device, and new products and exclusive updates as soon as they’re released.
