In June 2008, Adobe Systems Incorporated launched a free public beta of Acrobat.com. The name confused people because Acrobat.com has only a limited relation to the PDF-producing software Acrobat. Yes, you can create PDFs on Acrobat.com, but the online services also include a word processor; a screen-sharer for long-distance meetings; a file-sharer; and file storage.
Now, one year later, Acrobat.com is out of public beta. The free service will continue to offer online word processing, Web meeting (up to three participants), and online PDF file creation (up to five documents). Adobe has added two new Acrobat.com Premium subscription services. Both include Adobe phone and Web support programs. The Premium Basic service includes Adobe ConnectNow Web meeting capacity for up to five participants and online conversion of 10 uploaded documents to PDF per month. The Premium Plus service includes ConnectNow Web meeting capacity for up to 20 participants and unlimited online creation of PDF files.
Even more changes are in Acrobat.com’s future. Over the next year, Adobe plans to extend the team collaboration capabilities of Acrobat.com to provide simple, anywhere access to an open and comprehensive online workspace, such as:
* More real-time document collaboration tools that use the power and richness of the Adobe Flash Platform to provide a cool user experience in the browser and on the desktop
* A simple new interface that streamlines access to the tools business people need to create, share and meet online to get work done as a team
* Shared team workspaces that let groups of people work on and keep track of documents they need to finish projects, without the pain of version control and e-mail attachments
* Mobile access so people can upload, manage and share Acrobat.com documents from iPhone, Blackberry, Nokia and Windows Mobile smartphones
* Social media style updates from the documents people are working on to stay informed about what is happening and what needs to be done
* Deeper integration with desktop tools including Adobe products and Microsoft Outlook 2007, plus import from and export to Microsoft, Open Office and PDF formats
* Increased support for the Adobe developer community, including access to the underlying technologies of Acrobat.com, as well as its rapidly growing customer base
In support of the Acrobat.com vision, Adobe today also announced the preview release of Acrobat.com Tables, a spreadsheet-like application that is available immediately for free sign-up as a public beta, joining the Acrobat.com Presentations application on Acrobat.com Labs.
Acrobat.com Tables provides people with a new way to work with others on data-intensive documents – such as task lists, schedules, contacts, budgets and sales numbers – that are typically created and shared in spreadsheets or simple databases. People can easily work with others on the same table at the same time, without the worry of version control or e-mailing spreadsheets back and forth. Because the table lives online, people can access and work on the data from any Internet-connected computer, regardless of where they are located.
Pricing and Availability
The Premium Basic subscription is available for US $14.99/month, or US $149/year. The Premium Plus subscription is available for US $39/month, or US $390/year. Until July 16, 2009, Adobe is offering US $15 off the Premium Basic annual plan, and US $50 off the Premium Plus annual plan. Initially, both subscriptions are available from the Adobe.com online store in North America only. The preview release versions of Acrobat.com Tables and Presentations are available for free sign-up on Acrobat.com Labs.
This article was last modified on January 6, 2023
This article was first published on June 18, 2009
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