Adobe extends Photoshop to mobile phones

The Photoshop.com Mobile beta lets people with Windows Mobile phones view and upload photos.

(Credit: Adobe Systems)

Adobe Systems has gradually extended its Photoshop brand from its beginnings as high-end image-editing tool to its Elements consumer-oriented photo software and its Express online photo-editing site.

Now, the company has begun taking the next step with Photoshop.com Mobile (see previous coverage). The software is the "easiest way to upload, view, and share photos online from your Windows Mobile phone," according to Adobe.

This software lets people upload photos from their phones to Photoshop.com and view photo albums stored online, according to the site. The beta software, a free download for people in the United States, works on several Windows Mobile-based handsets.

If your device isn't supported, Adobe recommends using Shozu mobile phone software, which lets people upload photos, among other things.

Personally, I'd like to see a mobile phone app that could perform some really basic adjustments--cropping or auto-fixing exposure, for example. But, so far at least, this isn't that application. However, Photoshop itself is about to enter its 11th major version, CS4, and mobile phones are getting more powerful all the time, so the possibility is there.

But more likely, Adobe sees this software as a tool to increase its customers' online activity. Photoshop Express can be used for those sorts of adjustments, although even high-powered phones such as Apple's iPhone can't use it yet. But with gradually increasing network capacity and mobile-phone processing, this market will become much more mature in a few years.

For a few cautions and further details about Photoshop.com Mobile, see the release notes.

Update at 8:23 a.m. PDT: Shozu sent out an announcement of its own, saying its software lets 350 different cell phones upload pictures to Photoshop.com. The software also works with Facebook, WordPress, and Google's Blogger, and can send photos to multiple e-mail addresses.

[Goodbye Helicopter]

Seriously?!
If it isn't an app in the phone itself, online editing via the phone is going to be worse!
Do we really need to be at their web site to do something as contemporarily trivial as image editing?!

[swisshound]

I thought by signing the usage agreement with Adobe's online version you give them all rights to the material essentially giving them the copyright. Am I wrong here?

[MaggieRed]

Be careful, just by accessing the web site you have automatically agreed to their Terms.

"By accessing or using this Site in any way, including using any Services, downloading Materials or merely browsing the Site (capitalized terms defined below), you agree to and are bound by the terms and conditions set forth in this document and in any changes thereto that Adobe may publish from time to time (collectively, the ?Adobe Labs Terms of Use?).  If you do not agree to all of the terms and conditions contained in the Adobe Labs Terms of Use, do not access or use this Site."

Wow, just by loading the URL in your browser you accepted the terms without having the opportunity to read them first.

Yes anything you submit there becomes their property and you confirm you own the copyright of the material prior to submitting it.

[Vegaman_Dan]

This is the same boilerplate that a lot of online services use including Google. It basically means that while you own the copyright for the content, they are free to use it for their own promotional purposes without asking you first or compensation. As you have to accept this agreement when you upload content, it frees them from inadvertently using it without asking you first.

I would fully expect a company to ask you though. It's very bad form to do otherwise and could very badly backfire if the public / consumers found out about it.

[aMUSICsite]

It don't look as good a ezimba on the iPhone.

Seriously Apple sells 10 million iPhones and everyone is rushing to make apps for it.
Adobe brings this out for Windows mobile!

Go figure!

[Vegaman_Dan]

Apple wouldn't allow this sort of application as it could compete with their own online services. Look at the fate of Podcaster for a good example of this.

Adobe and Apple have had a rather sour relationship in the last few years. This development isn't really surprising.

[hurleysurf101]

Well, there is a lot of iPhone hype in the U.S. and while 10 million units may seem like a lot (not sure where you got that number or what your source was or when that figure was last quoted), it's not when you're looking at the global cell phone market. Even if you're just looking at the global "smart" phone market (versus all phones which also includes "basic" and "feature" phones), iPhone is still a minor player, but a player nevertheless...just not one that a lot of major mobile app makers are looking to target for achieving major penetration with their software in the handset world. It makes things a bit clearer to put it into perspective of the global cell phone market, as follows:

If app developers were smart, they would go after Symbian. Check out this site: http://www.newlc.com/gartner-worldwide-smartphone-sales-grew-16-percent-q2 Symbian is Nokia's OS.

If we want to narrow the field and talk smart phones, the Gartner analysis quoted on that site shows HUGE growth of 16% in the global smart phone market just from Q1--> Q2 of this year. It is this segment Adobe and many, many others are banking on to be a huge growth segment over the next 5 years in the handset industry.

If we want to analyze and break down what this means by the mobile OS (since that's what this article and comments focus on), low and behold, based on the numbers from that site (report dated Sept 15, 2008), Symbian, RIM, and Windows Mobile (in that order) are the 3 major platforms you want to get your app on if you want to up your odds in smart phone penetration.

You can also see that Apple's OS for iPhone (Mac OS X), still only has 2.8% global market share, which is about the same as the PalmOS (2.3%) and just under 5% less than even Linux-based phones (7.3%).

[timber2005]

It's about time someone put a decent application on Windows Mobile.
Just because there isn't a drag and drop SDK, doesn't mean you can't make an application. I'm looking at you facebook!

[als]

Thank you Adobe, now people who can't text on their phones in California while driving, will have something else to do.

[benjaminstraight]

we will see if people want to photoshop their phones

[nordstrl]

So I guess this means Adobe is also a service provider now. I think it's a good move since I think I'll be damned if I buy an Adobe app ever again, with the possible exception of Lightroom.

[www.yesoftwares.com]

The Phone is more and more powerful, so it should be passible to run photoshop on it, it sounds wonderfull, [url=http://www.yesoftwares.com]Cheap Software[/url]

[Galaxy5]

Thanks, Adobe. Leaving Apple in the lurch again.

The iPhone, with a large, bright screen, would be perfect for this.