Adobe Unveils Acrobat 9 Software
New Support for Adobe Flash Technology, Rich PDF
Portfolios and Real-time Capabilities Redefine PDF Communications
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Adobe Systems Incorporated
(Nasdaq:ADBE) today introduced Adobe® Acrobat® 9 software, a significant
upgrade that will transform the process of creating and sharing electronic
documents. Acrobat 9 delivers native support for Adobe Flash® technology, the
ability to unify a wide range of content in rich PDF Portfolios, and access to
real-time capabilities for co-navigating a PDF document with colleagues.
“The expectations organizations and individuals have for
communicating and collaborating in the workplace continue to grow
significantly,” said Rob Tarkoff, senior vice president, Business Productivity
Business Unit. “The ability to break through and communicate a message in a
compelling way has never been at a greater premium. Acrobat 9 is a response to
this environment and is poised to fundamentally change how professionals communicate
and collaborate using electronic documents.”
For the first time, Acrobat 9 provides deep support for Adobe
Flash technology, enabling users to include Flash Player compatible video and application
files in PDF documents. Recipients simply need free Adobe Reader® 9 software to
consume the content. Now, static documents can come to life as dynamic
communications.
Acrobat 9 also includes the ability to unify a wide range of
content into a single document with the new concept of PDF Portfolios. PDF
Portfolios enable business professionals to assemble multiple media types, such
as documents, video, audio, and even 3D objects, into one, compressed PDF file.
Users can then choose among several professional layouts—or create their
own—to quickly integrate content, define navigation, and add polish and
branding. As a result, communications such as sales proposals, legal documents,
and product collateral can become far more customized and compelling.
In addition, Acrobat 9 provides access to capabilities for
collaborating live within a PDF document — enabled by working with
Acrobat.com, a new suite of hosted services Adobe introduced as public beta
today. For example, a salesperson could use Acrobat 9 to send a lengthy
contract to clients. The sales professional, or any of the recipients using
Adobe Reader*, can then drive the groups navigation through the PDF document in
real-time working with Acrobat.com. This helps ensure everyone
is literally, and figuratively, on the same page.
Additionally, Acrobat 9 users can access Acrobat.com for
storing and sharing files, use it as a central location for collecting data as
part of a forms process, and to gather comments in a shared document review.
Acrobat.com includes other services, such as Adobe ConnectNow, personal web conferencing
that provides desktop sharing, video and voice conferencing, and integrated
chat; and Adobe Buzzword®, an elegant, web-based word processor that can be
used to easily co-author and share documents for comment and review, creating
high-quality print results.
The Acrobat 9 family consists of Acrobat 9 Standard, Acrobat
9 Pro, and the new Acrobat 9 Pro Extended software. The most comprehensive member
of the family, Acrobat 9 Pro Extended, includes Adobe Presenter software for
easily turning Microsoft® PowerPoint presentations into multimedia experiences
that can be published as PDF files.
Pricing and Availability
Acrobat 9 Pro Extended, Acrobat 9 Pro and Acrobat 9 Standard
for Microsoft Windows®, and Acrobat 9 Pro for Mac OS X, are expected to be
available by July 2008 in English, French, German, and Japanese language
versions. Acrobat 9 Pro Extended is expected to be available for US$699, and
registered users of qualifying earlier versions of Acrobat** can upgrade to
Acrobat 9 Pro Extended for US$229. Acrobat 9 Pro is expected to be available
for US$449, and registered users of qualifying earlier versions of Acrobat***
can upgrade to Acrobat 9 Pro for US$159. Acrobat 9 Standard is expected to be
available for US$299, and registered users of qualifying earlier versions of Acrobat****
can upgrade to Acrobat 9 Standard for US$99.
More information on the Acrobat 9 family is available online
at www.adobe.com/acrobat.
Customers in North America can also call 1-800-833-6687.
The beta Acrobat.com hosted services are available
immediately in English for free signup at
www.acrobat.com.
* Adobe Reader 9 required for full capabilities.
Functionality will vary on earlier versions of Adobe Reader.
** Acrobat 6 Professional, Acrobat 7 Professional, Acrobat
3D, Acrobat 8 Professional, Acrobat 3D Version 8
*** Acrobat 6 Standard, Acrobat 6 Professional, Acrobat 7
Standard, Acrobat 7 Professional, Acrobat 8 Standard, Acrobat 8 Professional
**** Acrobat 6 Elements,
Acrobat 6 Standard, Acrobat 7 Elements, Acrobat 7 Standard, Acrobat 8 Standard