Adobe Creative Suite 3.0 bundles and Euro pricing revealed

By Kasper Jade and Katie Marsal

Exclusive: Adobe Systems Inc. will announce Tuesday that its highly-anticipated Creative Suite 3.0 software suite will be available in six distinct bundles with European pricing ranging from €999 to €2799, AppleInsider has learned.Adobe Creative Suite Design Standard and Premium

A suite targeted towards media professionals will be called "Adobe Creative Suite 3.0 Design." It will be offered in both "Standard" and "Premium" bundles that fetch €1269 and €1999, respectively.

For print and publishing professionals, the "Standard" bundle will package InDesign 3.0, Photoshop CS3, Illustrator CS3 and Acrobat 8 Professional. The "Premium" version will be geared more towards cross-media and graphics designers, adding Flash CS3 Professional, Dreamweaver CS3, and swapping out Photoshop CS3 for Photoshop CS3 Extended.

Adobe Creative Suite Web Standard and Premium

The San Jose-based Adobe will also offer a pair of bundles specifically for Web developers as part of its "Adobe Creative Suite 3.0 Web" suite.

The "Standard," and most affordable of all six Creative Suite 3.0 bundles, will cost €999 and include Flash CS3 Professional, Dreamweaver CS3, Fireworks CS3, and Contribute CS3. A €1699 "Premium" package will also cater to web "designers," adding Photoshop CS3 Extended, Illustrator CS3, and Acrobat 8 Professional.

All Creative Suite 3.0 Web and Design suites, be it the Standard or Premium bundles, will also include Adobe Bridge CS3, Version Cue CS3, Device Central CS3, Stock Photos, and Acrobat Connect.

Adobe Creative Suite Production Premium

With film and video production professionals within its cross-hairs, Adobe also plans to roll out a €1999 suite called "Adobe Creative Suite 3.0 Production Premium." In addition to Photoshop CS3 Extended, Illustrator CS3, and Flash CS3 Professional, the package will include After Effects CS3 Professional, Premier Pro CS3, Soundbooth CS3, and Encore CS3.

Adobe Creative Suite Master Collection

For those pro users and institutions that want all Adobe has to offer, a €2799 "Adobe Creative Suite 3.0 Master Collection" will provide just that. It'll include InDesign CS3, Photoshop CS3 Extended, Illustrator CS3, Acrobat 8 Professional, Flash CS3 Professional, Dreamweaver CS3, Fireworks CS3, Contribute CS3, After Effects CS3 Professional, Premier Pro CS3, Soundbooth CS3, and Encore CS3.

Both the Production Premium and Master Collection suites will also come with Adobe Bridge CS3, Version Cue CS3, Device Central CS3, Stock Photos, Acrobat Connect, Dynamic Link, OnLocation CS3, and Ultra CS3. The only exception is the omission of Version Cue CS3 from the Production Premium bundle.

Most applications in the six-bundle release will be both Mac- and Windows-native, including all major components and their companion tools (Acrobat Connect, Bridge, Device Central, Dynamic Link, Stock Photos, and Version Cue). Only the Production Premium and Master Collection suites' video companion programs (OnLocation and Ultra) are limited to Windows systems.

Adobe plans to officially celebrate the global launch of Creative Suite 3.0 at a special event in New York City on Tuesday, March 27th. However, the software will not ship until sometime later this Spring.

Adobe Creative Suite 3.0 Software Bundles and Pricing (Euro)
  DESIGN WEB PRODUCTION PREMIUM MASTER COLLECTION
Standard Premium Standard Premium
InDesign CS3
*
*
*
Photoshop CS3
*
Photoshop CS3 Extended
*
*
*
*

Illustrator CS3

*
*
*
*
*
Acrobat 8 Professional
*
*
*
*
Flash CS3 Professional
*
*
*
*
*
Dreamweaver CS3
*
*
*
*
Fireworks CS3
*
*
*
Contribute CS3
*
*
*
After Effects CS3 Professional
*
*
Premiere Pro CS3
*
*
Soundbooth CS3
*
*
Encore CS3
*
*
 

Full price (Euro)

€1,269
€1,999
€999
€1,699
€1,999
€2,799

Please note that European pricing tends to be much higher than U.S. pricing. Straight conversions from Euros to U.S. dollars are unlikely to yield actual U.S. pricing.