Adobe Launches Creative Suite 5

Adobe has announced the launch of its Creative Suite 5, the latest release in the long line of products well known to graphic designers, web developers and anyone in the creative industries. It's a massive release, with all the 14 products in the suite being upgraded. Creative Suite 5 also adds Adobe Flash Catalyst to the lineup, a tool designed to allow users with no coding experience to create interactive content. In total, 250 new features have been added to the suite.

The company wasted no time and has integrated some Omniture technologies into CS5. Adobe bought Omniture last year with this very idea in mind and Creative Suite 5 users will now have access to analytics tools and information provided by the acquired technologies. Creative Suite 5 is also capable of creating content and apps for the upcoming Adobe Flash Player 10.1 and Adobe AIR 2 platforms.

All the 15 products can be acquired individually or bundled together in five distinct collections. For those wanting everything plus the kitchen sink, Adobe provides the Creative Suite 5 Master Collection, which comes with every product in the lineup including popular tools like Photoshop CS5, Illustrator CS5, InDesign CS5, Flash Catalyst CS5, Flash CS5 Professional, Dreamweaver CS5, Adobe Premiere Pro CS5 and After Effects CS5. The CS5 Master Collection is expected to retail for $2,599.

For more specialized purposes, Adobe offers four other collections aimed at different companies and professionals, CS5 Design Premium for $1,899, CS5 Web Premium for $1,799, CS5 Production Premium for $1,699 and CS5 Design Standard for $1,299. Upgrade pricing is also available, starting from $599 for each of the specialized packages and $899 for the CS5 Master Collection. The Adobe Creative Suite 5 is expected to be available for purchasing in the next 30 days.

“While Creative Suite 5 continues Adobe’s storied history of delivering astonishing new creative features, this release first and foremost addresses the challenges facing publishers and creatives worldwide—how to build profitable businesses around digital content,” Shantanu Narayen, president and chief executive officer at Adobe, said. “By coupling sophisticated online business analytics with dazzling creative tools, we’re ensuring that publishers, designers and marketers can create, deliver and optimize beautiful, high-impact digital experiences across media and devices.”