Adobe Adds Premium Services to Acrobat.com - for a Price

This week, Adobe converted its Acrobat.com online service, introduced last year,  from beta to production status, and rolled out two extra-cost upgrades while continuing to offer a free version. All versions of Acrobat.com include Adobe's Buzzword online word processing, but other features differ:

• The free version can create up to five PDF files, allows up to 100 downloads per file, supports web conferences for up to three users, and provides tech support through moderated forums.
• For $14.99/month or $149/year, you can upgrade to Premium Basic, which enables users to create up to 10 PDF files per month with unlimited downloads, web conferences for up to five users, and premium one-on-one phone chat tech support. Upgrade by July 16 to a one-year subscription, and save $15.
• Upgrade to Premium Plus, the high-end service, for $39/month or $390/year, and get unlimited PDF creation and downloads, web conferences for up to 20 users, and premium one-on-one phone chat tech support. Upgrade by July 16 to a one-year subscription, and save $50.

All Acrobat.com users can also try two new features currently under development at Acrobat.com Labs: Tables and Presentations.

Tables is essentially an online spreadsheet, while Presentations is an online presentation program. Both support sharing and collaboration features, just as the Buzzword online word processor does. Presentations displays thumbnails along the bottom of the window, making it easy to get to any slide at any time.  Both programs provide immediate notification when users view the the table or presentation, as well as immediate notification when another user edits a cell or a slide. Tables offers a Private View feature you can enable before sorting and filtering data so that only your view of the table is affected.

Keep in mind that both Tables and Presentations are pre-release services, so make sure you keep the feedback coming (and don't use either service as your sole repository for data).

How do you think Acrobat.com compares with Google Docs or Microsoft Office Live? Hit Comment and tell us what you think.

Image courtesy of NMC.org http://www.nmc.org.