Adobe Updates Acrobat, Creative Suite

Acrobat Connect adds online conferencing service; VoIP in pro version.

Steven Schwankert, IDG News Service

Adobe Systems has released Acrobat 8, a new version of its popular document authoring and reading software, and integrated it with its upgraded Creative Suite 2.3 Premium.

Acrobat 8 now includes Acrobat Connect, which allows online users to discuss and edit documents or other material in a real-time conference. The service is available for a monthly fee.

Also new is Acrobat Connect Professional, for larger meetings and with more features, including chat using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). Acrobat Connect will be available from early next year in English for $39 per month, or $395 per year, per user. Connect Professional will be available from December of this year in English, German, French, Japanese, and Korean. Adobe did not announce pricing for the professional version.

Pricing, Availability

The company said Acrobat 8 Professional will be available for Windows and Macintosh, with Acrobat 8 Standard for Windows, from November, in English, French, German, and Japanese. Suggested retail price for Acrobat 8 Professional is $449, with upgrades for $159. Suggested retail for Acrobat 8 Standard is $299, with upgrades for $99. Acrobat's last major update was nearly two years ago.

Bundled into the latest Creative Suite release is the Dreamweaver 8 Web development software, which Adobe acquired when it bought Macromedia. It also includes Acrobat 8 Professional, which supports the PDF/X-1a, PDF/X-3 files, PDF/X-4, and PDF/A formats.

Creative Suite will be available during the fourth quarter of this year for Windows and Macintosh, in English, French, German, and Japanese. Suggested retail prices are $1199 for the full version of Adobe Creative Suite 2.3 Premium, $159 for an upgrade from Adobe Creative Suite 2 Premium, and $549 for an upgrade from Creative Suite 1.x Premium and Standard.