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Adobe launches free Photoshop online

SAN FRANCISCO: The maker of the popular photo-editing software Photoshop on Thursday launched a basic version available for free online.

California-based Adobe Systems says it hopes to boost its name recognition among a new generation of consumers who edit, store and share photos online.

While Photoshop is designed for trained professionals, Adobe says Photoshop Express, which it launched in a “beta” test version, is easier to learn. User comments will be taken into account for future upgrades.

Photoshop Express will be completely Web-based so consumers can use it with any type of computer, operating system and browser. And, once they register, users can get to their accounts from different computers.

Web-based software is increasingly popular, and Adobe knows it has got to get on that train, said an analyst.

Many kinds of software are available for use online in a trend known as “software as a service,” or “cloud computing.” The earliest were e-mail programs, but they now include services to create and manage content and even whole operating systems. And they do not require time-consuming upgrades because they are maintained by the service provider.

Google provides a host of such services, as do Microsoft and others.

“This is the battlefield where Adobe and Microsoft and Google are going to fight some pretty big battles,” an analyst said.

Photoshop enters the online photo-management arena many years after such services first appeared. Some companies have already made a big name for themselves, like nine-year-old storage solution Shutterfly, photo-editing service Picnik or image-sharing site Photobucket.

Adobe says providing Photoshop Express for free is part marketing and part a strategy to create up-sell opportunities. It hopes some customers will move from it to boxed software like its $99 (about Rs. 4,000) Photoshop Elements or to a subscription-based version of Express that is in the works.

A research analyst at IDC says the move was necessary for Adobe to keep pace.

“It’s one of those things, if you can’t beat them, join them,” the analyst said. “If they don’t join them, the long run could be really painful.”

On the Web, the service is at www.photoshop.com/express — AP

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