Adobe Launches Photoshop Elements 7, Photoshop.com Storage

Adobe on Tuesday beefed up its consumer line of image editing software, officially launching Photoshop Elements 7 and Premier Elements 7, while introducing the Photoshop.com online storage service.

Adobe also introduced its Premier Elements 7 package for video editing, and unveiled a beta version of Photoshop.com Mobile--a Flash-based application designed to let mobile device users upload images to the Web and manage them online.

Photoshop Elements 7 adds a number of new features to the digital imaging suite. A tool called Scene Cleaner lets users "brush away" unwanted elements in a photo--such as tourists blocking views of a famous landmark. Another new tool, Smart Brush, lets user apply special effects, such as lighting enhancements, to specific image areas.

The new one-step Quick Fix tool lets users apply common edits, including teeth whitening and sky enhancement, with a single mouse click.

New in Premier Elements 7 is support for the AVCHD digital high-definition video format and a feature called Videomerge, which lets users create videos that place their own image in front of world-famous sites, on stage at a concert, on the moon or in other creative settings.Photoshop Elements 7 and Premier Elements 7 are slated for retail sale in October, priced at $99.99 each. A bundle that includes both applications will sell for $149.99.

Adobe's new Photoshop.com site is designed to give Elements users an online space on which to store and manage their image and video collections. The Plus version, which costs $49.99 per year, also offers themed templates, seasonal art work and 20GB of storage space--enough for about 15,000 photos, according to Adobe. Photoshop.com Basic is free and offers 5GB of online storage.

Adobe did not announce a price for Photoshop.com Mobile, which remains in testing.

Paul McDougall, InformationWeek