Adobe Introduces New E-book Software
Adobe is making a play in the world of e-books with the release of a new user-friendly application that will allow people to view digital editions of books and magazines on their computers.
Nearly a month after Sony introduced its new Reader device to the market, the Adobe revealed Adobe Digital Editions, new, free e-book viewer and manager software, at the MAX 2006 conference in Las Vegas.
Digital Editions will allow users to read and manage eBooks, digital magazines and digital newspapers on their computers. The software is a new introduction to the e-book viewer market for Adobe. The company currently offers Adobe Reader, a PDF-based reader. The new Digital Editions reads PDF files, but also reads XHTML-formatted content.
“Adobe Digital Editions builds on the ubiquitous reach of PDF and Flash and will further energize the e-book and digital publishing market,” said Shantanu Narayen, Adobe’s president and chief operating officer. “By creating a specialized, consumer-friendly application like Digital Editions, Adobe is ensuring publishers can securely deliver high-impact content to the widest possible audience, across hardware platforms, operating systems and devices.”
The beta version of the application is currently available only for Windows-based systems. According to Adobe, the Digital Editions download is 2.5MB and takes less than two minutes to install over a broadband connection.