Adobe Reader 2.5, courtesy of Quickoffice
Published by Steve Litchfield at 14:32 UTC, August 14th 2007
PDF viewing on S60 just got a whole lot slicker. Adobe Reader 2.5, using some of the very latest core Adobe Reader code, has been ported and released through Quickoffice's on-device Quickmanager module. Although the viewer is not now free, this collaboration makes a lot of sense, with the best of Adobe's latest code and Quickoffice's proven Symbian coding skills. Read on for review screenshots, links and the full press release.
v2.5 looks very slick, with the usual Quickoffice dynamic zoom facility (i.e. just stop it when it looks right) and with proper page layout and text flow modes. A full review will follow, but for now, here are some screenshots:
As to the whys and wherefores of the fact that it's not free anymore, I'd suggest that developers like Quickoffice need to earn a crust as much as the next person and, in any case, if PDF veiwing is low priority for you then you can always stick to the free v1.5 shipped in all S60 devices.
And here's the official press release:
Quickoffice, Inc., the leading provider of Microsoft Office™ document software for mobile devices, today announced the release of the Adobe® Reader® LE v2.5 for S60 on Symbian OS devices. Enhanced by Quickoffice with technology licensed from Adobe, the Reader gives mobile users access to Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) files in a reliable and consistent manner, while preserving rich formatting and graphics. This release is the first product resulting from the recently signed agreement between Adobe and Quickoffice, which will see both companies continue to develop solutions for the S60 Symbian operating system.
“By adding Adobe PDF to our existing worldwide distribution, we have expanded our product offering and further strengthened our industry leadership in the mobile space,” said Gregg Fiddes, VP sales and partnerships for Quickoffice. “We believe this Adobe Reader LE v2.5 is a perfect complement to our award-winning Quickoffice Premier® product, and our users will value having a common user interface and experience for all major Office file formats.”
Adobe Reader provides mobile users with a nearly identical experience to Adobe’s desktop PDF software. The integration of the Adobe Reader LE v2.5 in the Quickoffice suite allows secure viewing of rich, high-impact content on mobile phones by leveraging the unique technologies and experience of both Quickoffice and Adobe. This Reader for S60 devices supports the latest Adobe PDF file formats and is loaded with new feature enhancements, such as ZoomView™, file manager and reflow view, which eliminates the need for left, right scrolling.
“By working closely with Quickoffice, a company with a reputation for leadership, technical innovation and distribution capabilities, we are better able to bring the latest Adobe technology to the mobile phone user,” said Mike Bergeron, VP of business development for mobile and devices at Adobe. “Quickoffice has done a great job delivering this customized version of the Adobe Reader LE 2.5.”
Adobe Reader LE v2.5 is currently available via Quickmanager, Quickoffice’s unique, secure on-device client, for an introductory price of $14.95. Additional retail channels are expected to be added soon. For more information, visit www.quickoffice.com/adobe.
Categories: Software, Links of Interest
Platforms: S60 3rd Edition
News Discussion
I've already paid over £400 to buy Acrobat Pro 8 from Adobe, so you could say I'm mad to moan about £7.50, but add the complete 'pain in the arse' it is to transfer the Quickoffice licence from one device to the next and I really can't be bothered to try and explain to them that I have Adobe Reader LE 2.5 as well.
If a standalone downloadable version is made available I will consider buying it, but not through the QO Quickmanager.
Now will it run out of memory on the N95 with large PDF's.............
I guess it depends on how much you need PDF viewing. The new version is a lot faster and does support a number of improvements including the latest file formats and better viewing. I don't doubt plenty of people will e happy to pay for it.
PDF+ is much much better. You can open (and read) large files with that.
I then tried searching for a text string in a 60 page PDF and the search took 2 seconds. Personally, I think this sort of performance is worth paying for. If you need PDF reading a lot then the price is insignificant and, again, don't the programmers at Quickoffice deserve to be paid for the effort they've put in to do such a cracking port?
Exactly, if it helps you earn more money it will pay for itself (and 15 dollars wouldn't take much of an increase to earn back).
Also, a lot of business users will get the cost of this software back when they do their taxes anyway, so it will be free in effect.
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Originally Posted by Unregistered
Rafe, don't you mean "price inelastic?"
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h t t p : / / w w w . m e t r o . s e / s e / m i s c / p d f / 2 0 0 7 / 0 8 / 1 5 / S E S T O _ 2 0 0 7 _ 0 8 _ 1 5 . p d f
(sorry for all the spaces in the link... only way I could post it.)
/Jonas
This Adobe Reader works well. Have been happy with my $15 purchase.
Also, I dont mind paying $15 for an active development cycle. Remember adobe 2.0 for the pocket pc; Years without an update.
as an owner of a 5 star rate internet sales company, i find quick office 'support' to be nonexistent.