Adobe rolls out a major update to its content-creation suite, featuring greater integration between applications, new capabilities and improved support for mobile content platforms. The suite is set for a May release, officials say in New York.Adobe on Monday launched its Creative Suite 2.0, a major update to its design environment that includes Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, GoLive and Acrobat.
In a major upgrade of Adobe Systems Inc.'s premier graphics-design package, Adobe Creative Suite 2 will feature tighter integration between Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, GoLive and Version Cue. In addition, each application gains major new functionality of its own.
Adobe offers the package in two versions: the $899 Standard and $1,229 Premium, which adds Adobe GoLive CS2 and Version 7.0 of Adobe Acrobat Professional. The company said the updated suite will ship in May; updates to the Standard and Premium products will cost $349 and $549, respectively.
Adobe said its changes to Photoshop CS2 will address the growth of professional digital photographers. The new version will also enhance support of Camera Raw data and will add support for HDR (High Dynamic Range) images.
"Photoshop CS2 pushes the envelope with powerful features and simplified workflows that provide photographers and creative professionals the freedom to deliver stunning images," said Bryan Lamkin, senior vice president of Digital Imaging and Digital Video Products, in a statement.
Photoshop CS2 also features Image Warp, a tool that can bend a flat piece of art around a virtual 3-D object such as a sphere or cylinder. The warped art can remain editable. In addition, the update contains new filters aimed at correcting flaws in photographs.
Adobe pushes photo manipulation in Photoshop CS2. Click here to read more.
Along with the integration features and new unified image browser, the suite is integrated with Adobe Stock Photography, the company's new stock photography service. Adobe said more than 230,000 images will be available for purchase at the release of the software.
In a statement Shantanu Narayen, president and chief operating officer, said: "With the ability to search and purchase royalty-free images, across top stock photography libraries and from within Adobe applications, designers now have a streamlined workflow that saves time and gives access to a world of stunning imagery."
Click here to read more about Creative Suite 2's integration features.
Meanwhile, Adobe expanded the range of its Illustrator vector-image editor and the InDesign layout application.
One of the most significant new features of Illustrator CS2 is called Live Trace, according to beta testers contacted by Publish.com. With a single click, Live Trace will automatically convert bit-mapped art into editable vector art containing fully editable anchor points and paths.
In InDesign CS2, testers said, one of the important new features is Object Styles, the ability to save groups of settings for fill, drop shadows, text characteristics and other settings as a style that can be applied to other objects.
Adobe delivers important changes to Illustrator CS2 and InDesign CS2. Click here to read more.
More details about Photoshop CS2 are available in our March 28 story about the May release of Photoshop CS2.
Photoshop Creative Suite update due in May. Click here to read more.
In the graphic-design marketplace, Adobe and Quark Inc. are battling for mindshare, as they have been since Adobe launched InDesign and began winning market share away from Quark XPress.
Quark fights back against Adobe. Click here to read more.
Graphics Tools 
