Adobe Systems Incorporated today announced Adobe Connect 8, an update to the company's Web conferencing solution.

Key new features of Adobe Connect 8 include a simplified interface, expanded and more flexible collaboration capabilities for sharing ideas more freely, and enhanced audio and video integration. In addition, Adobe Connect 8 offers a software development kit (SDK) for greater extensibility, a new, optional desktop client based on the Adobe AIR runtime for easier meeting management, and support for a range of mobile devices.

New Features and Benefits

- More intuitive user interface that provides meeting hosts, presenters, and participants with even easier access to capabilities; allowing presenters, for example, to quickly and flexibly adjust meeting room layouts in real-time, as needed.
- Enhancements to sharing, chat, video, notes, Q&A, whiteboard, and other functionality "pods" to facilitate collaboration.
- Addition of two-way Universal Voice that allows customers to bridge audio from any conferencing provider into an Adobe Connect room and provide two-way communication between participants on both VoIP and telephone audio.
- Integration of Adobe Connect with existing video conferencing systems, enabling meeting hosts to bring live audio and video broadcast streams directly into an Adobe Connect room.
- Enhanced collaboration SDK, with support for Adobe Flex, Adobe Flash and Adobe ActionScript 3, which allows developers to create custom pods or integrate Adobe Connect with other systems.
- Adobe Connect Desktop, based on Adobe AIR, which lets users set up and manage meetings right from the desktop. The optional application also allows users to download recorded sessions for offline viewing.
- Adobe Connect Mobile enables participants to view meetings on mobile devices. Adobe Connect Mobile works on Apple iPhone and iPad, as well as Google Android and other mobile devices enabled with Adobe Flash technology.

Adobe Connect 8 is expected to be available worldwide on an on-premise basis by the end of November 2010. It is expected to be available on a hosted basis in North America starting in November 2010 (phased rollout), and on a hosted basis in other parts of the world starting in February 2011 (phased rollout). Adobe Connect 8 will be available in English, Brazilian Portuguese, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, and Turkish language versions. For more information on Adobe Connect 8, visit www.adobe.com/products/adobeconnect.