Adobe Creative Suite 3: Summary  (3/2007)

    by Douglas Dixon

Adobe Creative Suite 3 - Summary Chart Product summary
Individual applications
Bundled editions

See also: Deliver Everywhere: Adobe's Creative Suite 3  (NAB)

Adobe's Creative Suite 3 was just announced on March 27, 2007 (www.adobe.com/products/creativesuite).

           
        Adobe Creative Suite 3 - Design - Web - Production - Master Collection

This is a huge upgrade of the Adobe Creative product line, with design and development tools spanning the creative workflow across print, web, video, interactive and mobile. The tools are even more tightly integrated, especially with extensive support for Flash design and export from Adobe's recent acquisition of Macromedia. CS3 also marks the return of the video Production tools to the Macintosh platform. The Design and Web applications ship in April 2007, and the Production tools ship in the third quarter 2007.

CS3 includes some 13 applications, bundled in 6 suites, plus 6 additional technology components:

• New versions of the Adobe Design tools
      - Photoshop CS3, Illustrator CS3, InDesign CS3
      - Plus new Photoshop CS3 Extended
• New versions of the Adobe video Production tools
      - After Effects CS3 Professional, Premiere Pro CS3, Encore CS3
      - Plus new Soundbooth CS3 (replacing Audition)
      - Plus new tools from the Serious Magic acquisition
          - OnLocation CS3, Ultra CS3 (Windows only)
• Plus integrated Web tools from the Macromedia acquisition
      - Flash CS3 Professional, Dreamweaver CS3, Contribute CS3, Fireworks CS3
• Plus Acrobat 8 Professional
• Plus additional bundled technology components
      -  Adobe Bridge CS3, Adobe Acrobat Connect, Adobe Stock Photos
      - Adobe Version Cue CS3, Adobe Device Central CS3, Adobe Dynamic Link

Note: Information and pricing are summarized from public sources, and may be incorrect or out of date. 
Check the Adobe website for more information. Corrections and updates are welcome.

     Find Adobe Creative Suite 3 Production Premium  (Windows or Mac) on Amazon.com

     Find Adobe Creative Suite 3 Master Collection  (Windows or Mac) on Amazon.com

Adobe Creative Suite 3 - Summary Chart

Adobe Creative Suite 3 - Product summary

Tightly integrated, industry-leading design and development tools for virtually every creative workflow
Unites Adobe and Macromedia innovation to provide designers and developers with broad spectrum of creative options for all facets of print, web, mobile, interactive, film, and video production

Creative Suite 3 is available bundled in six new suites:

Design - Adobe Creative Suite 3 Design Premium, and Design Standard
    Features - Photoshop CS3 Extended, Illustrator CS3, InDesign CS3
        Acrobat 8 Professional
Web - Adobe Creative Suite 3 Web Premium, and Web Standard
    Features - Flash CS3 Professional, Dreamweaver CS3
        Contribute CS3, Fireworks CS3
Production - Adobe Creative Suite 3 Production Premium
    Features - After Effects CS3 Professional, Premiere Pro CS3
    Soundbooth CS3, Encore CS3
    OnLocation CS3, Ultra CS3 (Windows only)
Full Collection - Adobe Creative Suite Master Collection
    Combines 12 Adobe creative design and development applications

CS3 includes full version upgrades of 13 stand-alone applications:

Design - Photoshop CS3 [Photoshop CS3 Extended], InDesign CS3, Illustrator CS3
Web - Flash CS3 Professional, Dreamweaver CS3, Contribute CS3, Fireworks CS3
Production - Adobe Premiere Pro CS3, After Effects CS3, Encore CS3, Soundbooth CS3
    OnLocation CS3, Ultra CS3 (Windows only)
Plus, suites include:
    Adobe Bridge CS3, Adobe Acrobat Connect, Adobe Stock Photos
    Adobe Version Cue CS3, Adobe Device Central CS3, Adobe Dynamic Link
[ plus  Acrobat 8 Professional ]

CS3 Availability

Creative Suite 3 - Design and Web - ship in April 2007
Creative Suite 3 - Production Premium and Master Collection - ship third quarter 2007

Windows and Macintosh Platforms

Majority of Adobe Creative Suite 3 editions will be available on Mac and Windows:
    Universal applications for both PowerPC and Intel-based Macs (OS X)
    Microsoft Windows XP and Windows Vista
Increased performance natively on Intel-based Macs and latest Windows hardware

Production applications: Intel-based Macintosh systems and Windows XP and Vista
    After Effects is also available for Mac as a Universal Binary application
    OnLocation requires Boot Camp and Windows (purchased separately),
        or a separate Windows based computer
    Ultra is not included in Mac box.

Adobe Creative Suite 3 - Individual applications

Design tools

Adobe Photoshop CS3 - image editing - digital imaging
Adobe Photoshop CS3 Extended - image plus video, 3D, animation
Adobe Illustrator CS3 - illustration - vector graphics
Adobe InDesign CS3 - page layout - professional layout and design
Adobe Acrobat 8 Professional - create, combine, and control Adobe PDF documents

Web tools

Adobe Flash CS3 Professional - interactive design
Adobe Dreamweaver CS3 - website design
Adobe Contribute CS3 - Web publishing
Adobe Fireworks CS3 - optimize images for the Web

Production tools

Adobe After Effects CS3 Professional - motion graphics and visual effects
Adobe Premiere Pro CS3 - video editing for HD, SD, and DV
Adobe Soundbooth CS3 - audio enhancement and creation for video editors
Adobe Encore CS3 - DVD authoring
Adobe OnLocation CS3 - Direct-to-disc recording and monitoring (Windows only)
        [ was Serious Magic DV Rack ]
Adobe Ultra CS3 - video keying [ was Serious Magic Ultra ]

Additional technology components

Adobe Bridge CS3 - navigational control center
Adobe Acrobat Connect - collaborate through interactive online personal meetings
Adobe Stock Photos - royalty-free images
Adobe Version Cue CS3 - track and collaborate on document versions
Adobe Device Central CS3 - design and preview mobile content
Adobe Dynamic Link - interchange After Effects, Premiere, Encore without rendering

Adobe Creative Suite 3 - Bundled editions

Adobe Creative Suite 3 Master Collection

Comprehensive design environment in which to explore and express ideas
Equipped with all of Adobe's leading creative tools for designing content for print, web, interactive, mobile, film, video, and DVD.
Highly integrated, exceptionally productive creative environment
14 applications

Adobe Creative Suite 3 Master Collection - US$2499 (Estimated street price)
Master Collection ship third quarter 2007

Adobe Creative Suite 3 Design editions

Design Premium - Essential toolkit for print, web, interactive and mobile design and publishing
Design Standard - Focuses on professional print design and production

Adobe Creative Suite 3 Design Premium edition - US$1799 (Estimated street price)
Creative Suite 3 Design Standard edition - US$1199 (Estimated street price)
Ship April 2007

Essential tools for professional page layout, image editing, illustration, and PDF workflows
Newly integrated tools for producing effective websites, rich interactive experiences, and engaging mobile content
Powerhouse upgrades to InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator
Flash and Dreamweaver ensure interactive design is front and center in today's creative workflows.
New levels of integration between favorite Adobe and Macromedia tools

Creative Suite 3 Design Standard
    Adobe Photoshop CS3, Illustrator CS3, InDesign CS3
    Adobe Acrobat 8 Professional software.

Creative Suite 3 Design Premium adds full new versions of:
    Adobe Photoshop CS3 Extended
    Adobe Flash CS3 Professional, Dreamweaver CS3

Also part of Design Premium and Design Standard:
    Adobe Bridge CS3, Adobe Acrobat Connect, Adobe Stock Photos
    Adobe Version Cue CS3, Adobe Device Central CS3

Creative Suite 3 Web editions

Web Premium - Combines the leading web design and development tools
Web Standard - Serves the professional web developer

Adobe Creative Suite 3 Web Premium edition - US$1599 (Estimated street price)
Adobe Creative Suite 3 Web Standard edition - US$999 (Estimated street price)
Ship April 2007

Capture interest with interactive websites, applications, user interfaces, presentations, and other digital experiences.
Comprehensive toolset for creating, designing, developing, and maintaining engaging web projects.
Broad array of design tools provided by Photoshop, Illustrator, and Flash Professional
Proceed from concept to delivery in one fluid, integrated environment with powerful tools in Dreamweaver, Fireworks, Contribute, and Acrobat 8 Professional

Creative Suite 3 Web Standard
    Adobe Dreamweaver CS3, Flash CS3 Professional
    Adobe Fireworks CS3, Contribute CS3

Creative Suite 3 Web Premium adds full new versions of:
    Adobe Photoshop CS3 Extended, Illustrator CS3
    Adobe Acrobat 8 Professional

Also part of Web Premium and Web Standard:
    Adobe Bridge CS3, Adobe Acrobat Connect, Adobe Stock Photos

Adobe Creative Suite 3 Production Premium

Complete post-production solution for video, post-production and rich media professionals

Adobe Creative Suite 3 Production Premium - US$1699 (Estimated street price)
Ship third quarter 2007

Complete, cross-platform, integrated workflow for capturing, editing, creating effects, compositing, interactive authoring, and delivering output.
Create and deliver visually innovative projects for film, broadcast, web, DVD, Blu-ray Disc, and mobile devices.
Most efficient and integrated solution available for both Mac and Windows.

Creative Suite 3 Production Premium combines full new versions of:
    Adobe After Effects CS3 Professional, Premiere Pro CS3
    Adobe Soundbooth CS3, Encore CS3
    Adobe OnLocation CS3 (Windows only), Ultra CS3
    Adobe Photoshop CS3 Extended, Illustrator CS3
    Adobe Flash CS3 Professional

Also part of Production Premium:
    Adobe Bridge CS3, Adobe Acrobat Connect, Adobe Stock Photos
    Adobe Device Central CS3, Adobe Dynamic Link