Adobe Carousel First Look

Adobe Carousel Icon

Today, at their annual Photoshop World conference in Las Vegas, Adobe is announcing a new consumer-facing software product called Carousel.  Carousel, a photo library management app, is one part cloud storage, one part photo sharing, and one part photo editor.  Read on to find out what it does and what sets it apart.

Adobe Carousel will launch near the end of 2011 on iOS and Mac OS X Lion only.  Plans for Windows and Android clients show a projected release of early 2012.  The Carousel app will allow a subscriber to have their entire JPG image library seamlessly and effortlessly synchronized among an unlimited number of devices.  For demonstration purposes, Adobe showcased using Carousel on an iPad, iPhone, and Mac desktop computer.  Whenever an image is added, deleted, or modified, the changes will be immediately pushed to all devices linked to that Carousel account.  This works similarly to the way Dropbox keeps files and folders synchronized to connected devices and accounts.

Cloud storage

Carousel will only launch with JPG image support for now.  This makes sense, as it is a consumer-oriented product, JPG being the file type of choice for most casual photographers.  There is no limit to the amount of storage; neither are there any limits on individual file size or image resolution.  A feature we can expect to see at release or in future updates is the ability to auto-upload.  This will prove especially efficient, allowing the photographer to shoot on smartphone or tablet without having to remember to add the images to Carousel each time.

Photo sharing

Sharing options available in Carousel

Social network integration for Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and email is built-in with version one, but users can also choose to share entire albums with others directly in Carousel.  An annual subscription to Carousel ($59.99) gives users access to five different Carousels (similar to albums), and each of these Carousels can be shared with up to five other users.  When a user is given access to a Carousel, they are able to use Adobe Carousel as if they were a regular subscriber.  The original sharing user’s subscription license will cover the shared individual’s access to the app as long as the license is kept current.

Photo editor

Some innovative and creative looks are available in Carousel

If there’s one thing Adobe does well, it’s photo editing, and Carousel doesn’t disappoint.  In addition to basic editing functions like crop, brightness, and contrast, there are several “looks” that can be used to quickly apply general effects to an entire image.  While many of these are cliché (black and white, sepia, solarize), there are several looks that turn run-of-the-mill photos into eye-catchers.  Popular mobile apps like Retro Camera probably influenced the decision to put serious effort into these looks.  Once changes are made and applied to an image, the new image appears across all linked Carousel accounts.  Another user can decide to modify these images again utilizing the same controls that can be found in the exact positions as the original editor left them.

At a penny under $60 per year to subscribe, Carousel will need to deliver a compelling and useful product that consumers will find absolutely unique.  This same process can already be accomplished using a myriad of other services (many of which are free), but Adobe seeks to streamline the process by simplifying the setup and use, integrating their trusted and award-winning photo editing software and algorithms, and giving users a (soon-to-be) cross platform/cross device library management solution.  By this time next year, Carousel may just be the app to beat in the mobile imaging space.