Adobe Digital Editions 1.0 Free Download Now Available

Top Publishers and Sony Support New Digital Publishing Experience

Adobe Systems Incorporated today announced the release of Adobe® Digital Editions 1.0, a new software application built from the ground up for acquiring, managing and reading eBooks, digital newspapers, and other digital publications.

Available as a free download for Microsoft® Windows® and Macintosh systems, Adobe Digital Editions software transforms the digital reading experience and offers new creative possibilities for publishers.

Leading publishers, online retailers and channel partners have announced their support for Adobe Digital Editions today (see separate quote sheet ). By using a new export feature built into Adobe InDesign® CS3, publishers can easily create new Adobe Digital Editions-ready content, helping to significantly reduce cost and conversion time. In addition, with versions for mobile platforms and reading devices also planned, Sony has committed to embed Adobe Digital Editions technology into its portable reader product line.

“Adobe Digital Editions will revolutionize how publishers deliver eBooks and other digital content and how consumers experience it,” said Rob Tarkoff, senior vice president, Corporate Development at Adobe. “The combination of Adobe Digital Editions, InDesign CS3 and a new generation of hardware from innovators like Sony shows that digital publishing is front and center for content owners — and millions of readers who are looking forward to innovations in the delivery of their favorite works.”

“We’re excited to work with Adobe to pioneer new applications for eBooks and other digital documents,” said Ron Hawkins, vice president of portable reader systems marketing at Sony Electronics, Inc. “This collaboration will give us the opportunity to expand our offerings to a larger audience and new markets, allowing individual consumers, businesses, and other customers to take advantage of the portability and ease of use of Sony’s Reader products with a wider spectrum of content.”

With native support for Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) and XML-based publications, Adobe Digital Editions already works seamlessly with more than 150,000 commercially published titles. Using Adobe Digital Editions 1.0 readers will find that content automatically re-flows, adapting to different screen sizes and support for Adobe Flash® software promises to enhance digital publications through the integration of rich audio and video.

Adobe Digital Editions 1.0 will be unveiled at the O’Reilly Tools of Change Conference in San Jose on June 19.

Adobe Digital Editions is available immediately as a free download for Microsoft Windows® and Macintosh® systems at adobe.com/go/getdigitaleditions. Adobe Digital Editions for Linux platforms and localized versions in French, German, Japanese, Korean and Chinese are expected to be available in the second half of 2007.