Adobe, the California-based company that specializes in creating multimedia and creativity software products, has recently announced that its upcoming family of products will carry the X tag. The current version of Adobe Reader is Adobe Reader 9 – the next iteration will be Adobe Reader X (not 10, but in roman numerals X is 10). The current version of Adobe Acrobat is Acrobat 9 – the upcoming version will be Acrobat X.

As Group Product Manager for Adobe Reader, Steve Gottwals explained, Adobe Reader X “continues to set the standard for reliably viewing, printing, and commenting on PDF documents.” The application will be able to open and interact with any PDF files, including forms and multimedia files of PDF content.

Adobe Reader will have the following new features to offer:
- The user will be able to view and interact with PDF files that contain drawings, email messages, spreadsheets, videos, and other content types.
- The user will be able to make notes and share feedback with others using the Sticky Notes and Highlighter tools.
- To fit more content on the screen, the user can select the reading mode or the two-up mode.
- The print, zoom, find and other keyboard shortcuts can be used within the browser.
- Adobe Protected Mode, a sandboxing technology based on Microsoft’s Practical Windows Sandboxing Technique that will provide extra security by running all operations required to display PDF files in a sandbox (a very restricted and confined environment).
- From within Adobe Reader X the user will be able to directly access online services at Acrobat.com
Adobe Reader for Android, Windows Phone 7 and Blackberry Tablet OS will ensure seamless PDF access for mobile devices.

Steve Gottwals said the Acrobat X family of products – Adobe Reader X, Acrobat X Suite, Acrobat X Pro, and Acrobat X Standard – will be released sometime next month.

Additional details on the Acrobat X family of products are available on Adobe.com.