TIM MULLANEY
Sun
Adobe Systems Inc., facing competition from websites letting people edit photos online, created a free, Internet-based version of its Photoshop software.
A test version of the service, Photoshop Express, will allow users to store, sort and edit pictures online and move them to social-networking sites such as Facebook, Adobe, the largest maker of graphic-design programs, said today in a statement.
Programs run over the Web are cheaper and easier to update than software running on desktops, while traditional software supports more features. By giving away a basic version of Photoshop online, Adobe is hoping to entice digital-camera owners who may become customers of its software later, said Martin Pyykkonen, an analyst at Global Crown Capital.
“It’s about getting more people into doing this,” said Pyykkonen, who is based in Denver. He recommends Adobe and doesn’t own shares. Adobe shares have fallen 16 per cent this year.
The current version is for the “casual consumer, who creates digital images but doesn’t know how to make them better,” Doug Mack, Adobe’s vice president of consumer and hosted solutions, said in an interview.