Adobe Launches Photoshop Express Beta

Novice Photoshop users can now get their photo-manipulation fix on the go, and for free, with Photoshop Express.

Adobe’s so-called Rich Internet Application platform, Flex, is bearing some interesting fruit. Having already launched a version of Premiere using Flex in 2007, Adobe has now ported yet another of its desktop applications to the Web for free with Photoshop Express, a limited-function version of the original program that allows users to tweak photos online.

Adobe announced the public beta test of Photoshop Express on Thursday, inviting users to test the software provide feedback. The first version of the program includes many simple Photoshop staples, such as red-eye and blemish removal, cropping and resizing, and filters that can distort photos or turn them into sketches.

Besides photo manipulation, Adobe also offers 2GB of free photo storage with Photoshop Express, allowing users to upload their original photos, toy with them, keep both versions, and share them other places on the Web. They can also create Adobe-hosted galleries and slideshows for others to visit.

Photoshop Express is available for free immediately, as a public beta test through Adobe.