Adobe CEO Bruce Chizen revealed that his company is planning on bringing a version of the companyis flagship product Photoshop to online users by fall 2007. This new version of Photoshop will be a Web hosted service and will likely be funded through online ads, making it free users, according to CNET News.
The online version of Adobe Photoshop wonit be geared towards the needs of professional users. Instead, it will offer an entry level tool set that falls below the consumer oriented Photoshop Elements application.
The decision allows Adobe to enter into the free product market that Google has been developing. Mr. Chizen commented that the hosted application market is "something we are sensitive to because we are watching folks like Google do it in different categories, and we want to make sure that we are there before they are, in areas of our franchises."
If the Web hosted version of Photoshop - along with the recently launched online Adobe Remix video editing tool - proves successful, expect to see additional Web hosted versions of Adobe applications to follow.