Marketing and all things related

Adobe Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE) announced today that Adobe PhotoShop Express, a stripped down version of the popular image editing software, has launched online, and it's available for free.  It's still in a beta version, but this is a great development from Adobe.

More and more computer users are looking for free software alternatives online.  Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) offer a variety of online software choices, and Adobe has finally jumped on the bandwagon.  In fact, it could be argued that software providers who don't get on that bandwagon soon, could be at a distinct disadvantage in the future.

Adobe plans to make money through upsells.  For example, the online version of Adobe PhotoShop Express is a very basic version of the popular software.  The hope is that users will want to take advantage of upgrades to access more features or add-ons.

Bottom-line, this is a move Adobe had to make to stay competitive, and I'm actually looking forward to what else might come from them in the future. 

Now, from a personal perspective, I signed up for Adobe PhotoShop Express this afternoon and played around with it a bit.  I have to agree, the features are extremely basic.  It appears to be a good tool for photo editing and sharing, but frankly, my first reaction was to say I prefer Picnik for simple, online editing over Adobe PhotoShop Express.  I suppose that first impression could change as I play around with it more.  And of course, Adobe PhotoShop Express is still in beta, so I'm sure enhancements will come in the future.

Have you tried Adobe PhotoShop Express yet?  What do you think?