Adobe Carousel Arrives
October 27, 2011
One month after it was unveiled, Adobe’s highly anticipated Carousel application has arrived. The product uses the company’s Adobe Photoshop Lightroom technology to allow customers to access and edit their photos across various devices regardless of operating system.
When customers import their photo library into Adobe Carousel, or take new photos using Adobe Carousel on an iDevice, those photos are automatically accessible on any supported device through a cloud. Once imported, any edits, deletions or additions to the library made on one device are automatically updated across all devices linked with the account. Best of all, Adobe Carousel requires no manual syncing or storage limitations.
For the time being, Adobe Carousel is only available for the iPhone/iPod touch, iPad, and OS X Lion. However, versions for Android and Windows are coming soon.
After signing into the app with your Adobe ID (you may also create a new one), you’ll be asked to decide which photos to upload from your Camera Roll or your Mac. During syncing (which can take awhile, depending on the number of photos chosen), photos can almost immediately be viewed across the many platforms. However, editing isn’t allowed until the sync process is completed.
When sync is complete, you can easily edit photos by fixing exposure, white balance and saturation, or make minor adjustments to contrast, brightness, and/or vibrance. Plus, original versions of each photo are maintained, which is great news for amateurs and professional photographers alike.
With one Adobe Carousel subscription comes the ability to create up to five separate carousels. These carousels can then be shared with up to five others at no additional cost. Photos can also be shared via email, Facebook, Twitter, or Tumblr.
While casual photographers may find little use for Adobe Carousel, others will certainly benefit. We especially like that the service maintains original copies of each photo, no matter how many times the photo is actually edited. Plus, it’s nice to see Adobe Carousel will eventually arrive on other platforms. Finally, being able to share your entire library with others (as you see fit) is another benefit we find promising.
Adobe is offering a complimentary subscription for up to 30 days for new users. Adobe Carousel then runs $5.99 per month or $59.99 per year. However, these prices are only good through January 31, 2012. Thereafter, the price jumps to $99/year. For your convenience, monthly or yearly subscriptions may be obtained through an in-app purchase.
Our advice: Take Adobe Carousel out for a spin. We’re pretty sure you’ll be happy you did.
The universal (and free) Adobe Carousel app is available now in the App Store. The Mac version (again, free to download) is in the Mac App Store.
