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Adobe gets Flash-y with mobile design platform

Erica Ogg Former Staff writer, CNET News
Erica Ogg is a CNET News reporter who covers Apple, HP, Dell, and other PC makers, as well as the consumer electronics industry. She's also one of the hosts of CNET News' Daily Podcast. In her non-work life, she's a history geek, a loyal Dodgers fan, and a mac-and-cheese connoisseur.
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Erica Ogg

Creative types everywhere are sure to take note of Adobe's release of Creative Suite 3 on Tuesday, but there's also a new component aimed specifically at mobile content creators.

Adobe Device Central is integrated across each of the upgraded Adobe products like Photoshop, After Effects, Dreamweaver, Flash, Illustrator and more, and is compatible with both the Windows and Mac OS.

Adobe Device Central
A view of Adobe Device Central
on a Mac

Developers creating Flash-based content for mobile handsets are given a lot of control with Device Central. They can now see how their work will appear on more than 100 brands of phones before loading it onto any device. Device profiles from all the major handset makers are pre-loaded and will be periodically updated by Adobe. The profiles include checklists to ensure that applications are created to match each phone's capabilities.

Device Central also adds the ability to see how content will appear in real-world situations. There are check boxes that will show how an application will appear in direct sunlight, with and without backlighting, different levels of battery power and service signal strength.

Adobe's announcement of Creative Suite 3, the biggest release in the company's history, coincides with the CTIA wireless tradeshow in Orlando, Fla.