Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today announced the
availability of Adobe® AIR™
and Adobe® Flex® 3
software, furthering the Adobe technology platform for rich Internet
applications (RIAs). Developers and designers use Adobe RIA technologies
to rapidly create and deploy rich, branded content and applications. The
release of Adobe AIR signals the next wave of Adobe RIA innovation by
bridging the real-time, dynamic capabilities of the Web with the
computing power and data capabilities of the desktop. Businesses that
leverage the Web as a platform are now using the latest Adobe RIA
technologies to build and deploy more engaging applications with the
widest reach across browsers, desktops and operating systems.
"For 25 years, Adobe has delivered technology
innovation for our customers, beginning with desktop publishing and
extending to multimedia and the Web,” said
Kevin Lynch, chief technology officer at Adobe. "Now,
we continue to advance the future of digital experiences by enabling our
customers to create highly interactive, expressive applications. This is
an exciting time for Adobe, for innovation in software, and for
designers and developers who are driving the Web forward.” Industry Leaders Embrace Adobe RIA Technologies
Leading companies across industries such as entertainment, finance,
media, retail and social networking are embracing Adobe RIA
technologies. Deutsche Bank, The
Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc., and The New
York Times Company, among others, use the Adobe technology platform for
RIAs to help ensure customer interactions are engaging and effective.
(See separate press release issued today.)
"Adobe has been focused on improving the Web
experience and delivering the underlying technologies to produce more
interactive and expressive Web sites and applications, and the Adobe
technology platform for RIAs hits right at a key need companies have
today,” said Al Hilwa, Program Director at
IDC. "The ROI of RIAs is real. A more
engaging product visualization experience in eCommerce applications for
example, helps customers understand what they are buying, which leads to
less online abandonment and increased average order size through
cross-sell and up-sell visualization.”
Adobe is also delivering new applications built with Adobe Flex and
deployed on Adobe AIR, such as Adobe Media Player, now in beta release,
which is a fusion of TV and the Internet that allows users to watch
their favorite shows anytime and anywhere, as well as Buzzword, an
elegant online word processor that has built-in collaboration
capabilities.
Adobe Technology Platform for RIAs
Adobe AIR, Adobe Flex and Adobe Flash® Player
software are the foundation of the Adobe technology platform for RIAs.
Adobe RIA technologies include tools, frameworks, servers, services, and
runtimes that work together seamlessly, enabling the creation of
engaging experiences with the greatest reach. There are a variety of
learning resources at the Adobe Developer Connection (developer.adobe.com)
to help developers immediately start building RIAs for the browser and
the desktop.
Adobe AIR enables developers to create RIAs on the desktop using the
skills and Web technologies — such as HTML,
Ajax, PDF, Adobe Flash and Adobe Flex — they
already employ. Applications deployed on Adobe AIR have the advantages
of browser-based RIAs, such as speed of development, ease of use, and
access from virtually anywhere. Yet they also have the benefits of
desktop applications, such as the ability to read/write local files,
work with other applications on a user’s
computer and maintain local data storage on the desktop.
Flex is a free, open source framework for building highly interactive,
expressive RIAs. Adobe Flex Builder™ 3, an
Eclipse™ based development tool, accelerates
Flex application development and includes new capabilities for deploying
RIAs on Adobe AIR. Adobe Flex Builder 3 integrates with Adobe Creative
Suite® 3 software making it easy for
designers and developers to work together more efficiently. Powerful new
testing tools, including memory and performance profilers and integrated
support for automated functional testing, speed up development and lead
to higher performing RIAs.
Adobe Flash Player, which reaches over 98 percent of Internet-enabled
PCs and hundreds of millions of mobile and set-top devices, delivers
unparalleled creative options, highly engaging user experiences,
stunning audio/video playback, and virtually universal reach.
Major portions of Adobe AIR, such as the WebKit HTML engine, Tamarin
ActionScript™ Virtual Machine, and SQLite
local database functionality, are open source. Adobe is committed to
contributing to the open source community on multiple fronts, including
the release of the free open source Flex framework and open source
BlazeDS for high-speed data connectivity, as well as active membership
in the SQLite Consortium. Visit opensource.adobe.com
for more information.
Pricing and Availability
Adobe AIR and the Adobe AIR SDK are available immediately as free
downloads in English and offered for both Windows®
and Macintosh operating systems. Upcoming versions are expected to be
available for Linux and other languages. For more information, please
visit www.adobe.com/go/air.
The Adobe Flex 3 product line is available now in English and Japanese,
and offered for both Windows and Macintosh operating systems. The open
source Flex 3 SDK is available free of charge and a beta version of
Adobe Flex Builder 3 for Linux is freely available on Adobe Labs
(labs.adobe.com). Adobe Flex Builder 3 is available as a standalone
product or Eclipse plug-in, with the Standard edition priced at US$249
and the Professional edition at US$699. For more information about
system requirements and supported platforms, please visit www.adobe.com/go/flex.(1)
About Adobe Systems Incorporated
Adobe revolutionizes how the world engages with ideas and information –
anytime, anywhere and through any medium. For more information, visit www.adobe.com.
(1) Price does not include applicable sales tax, or shipping and
handling fees. Reseller prices may vary.
© 2008 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All rights
reserved. Adobe, the Adobe logo, ActionScript, Adobe AIR, Creative
Suite, Flex, and Flex Builder are either registered trademarks or
trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or
other countries. Macintosh is a trademark of Apple Inc., registered in
the United States and other countries. Windows is either a registered
trademark or a trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States
and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their
respective owners.
