FrameUsers.com

Adobe Expands Acrobat 6.0 Product Line to Enhance Business Document Processes at the Desktop

Three New Acrobat Products Build on Ubiquity of Adobe PDF, Address Key Customer Segments and Support Adobe’s Enterprise Initiative

SAN JOSE, Calif. — April 7, 2003 (NASDAQ: ADBE) — Adobe Systems Incorporated, the leader in network publishing, today introduced the AdobeÆ AcrobatÆ 6.0 product line, a major upgrade and expansion of the company’s cornerstone software application and a critical component of its solutions for integrating documents into business processes. The new Acrobat 6.0 family enables power users, workgroups, and business professionals across the extended enterprise to efficiently create, share, review, and archive files in the Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF), the de facto standard for reliable electronic document distribution.Building on the ubiquity of free Adobe ReaderÆ software, and the strengths of Adobe PDF for document presentation and XML for data exchange, Adobe’s desktop and server solutions provide integrated and actionable delivery of business-critical information to virtually any user inside or outside an organization.

“Companies continue to strive for more efficient document-based business processes. This requires closely connecting the desktop productivity tools business users rely on today with back-office process automation systems,” said Tim Hickernell, Senior Program Director, META Group. “Products and solutions that address the entire document lifecycle, particularly those based on and supportive of industry standards, will provide large businesses an important, strategic advantage.”

The new Acrobat 6.0 family—Acrobat 6.0 Professional, Acrobat 6.0 Standard and Acrobat Elements—offers different levels of functionality to address specific customer needs. The most comprehensive product, Acrobat 6.0 Professional, helps business, creative and engineering professionals who work with complex, graphically rich layouts to improve the process of document exchange, review and archive. Acrobat 6.0 Standard enables workgroups to simplify document reviews using intuitive tools and a new, task-based interface. Acrobat Elements is a volume-license-only product that allows enterprises to place inexpensive Adobe PDF creation capability on every desktop, enabling reliable document distribution.

The company also announced Adobe Reader 6.0 software (expected to be available in by the end of May 2003), an upgrade and re-naming of the widely distributed, free Acrobat Reader. Adobe Reader, which supports numerous desktop and mobile device platforms, is the definitive application for viewing, interacting with and printing Adobe PDF content ranging from business documents and forms to PhotoshopÆ Album slide shows, eBooks, and embedded multimedia. Adobe Reader will be available free of charge as a download from Adobe.com by the end of May 2003. The company has distributed over half-a-billion copies of the product since its 1993 introduction.

Pricing and Availability
Acrobat 6.0 Professional and Acrobat 6.0 Standard for WindowsÆ 98 Second Edition (Acrobat 6.0 Standard only), Windows NTÆ Workstation 4.0 (with service pack 6), Windows 2000 Professional (with service pack 2), Windows XP Home, Professional and Tablet PC Editions, and Mac OS X v10.2.2, are expected to ship in English by the end of May 2003. Acrobat 6.0 Professional will be available for an estimated street price of US$449. Registered users of Acrobat 4.0 and Acrobat 5.0 can upgrade to Acrobat 6.0 Professional for an estimated street price of US$149. Acrobat 6.0 Standard will be available for an estimated street price of US$299. Registered users of Acrobat 4.0 and Acrobat 5.0 can upgrade to Acrobat 6.0 Standard for an estimated street price of US$99. The products also will be available through Adobe’s licensing programs.

Acrobat Elements for Windows 98 Second Edition, Windows ME, Windows NT 4.0 (with service pack 6), Windows 2000 and Windows XP, is immediately available in English, French, German and Japanese language versions. The product, available exclusively through Adobe’s licensing programs, begins at US$28 per seat for a 1,000 seat license.

Information about the availability of other language versions of the Acrobat 6.0 product line, as well as further details on pricing, upgrade and support policies, is available online at http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat. For more information, customers in North America can call 1-800-272-3623.

About Adobe Systems Incorporated
Founded in 1982, Adobe Systems Incorporated (www.adobe.com), the leader in network publishing, offers a comprehensive line of software for enterprise and creative professional customers. Its products enable customers to create, manage and deliver visually rich, compelling and reliable content. Based in San Jose, Calif., Adobe is one of the world’s largest software companies.