Affiliate Disclosure
If you buy through our links, we may get a commission. Read our ethics policy.

Adobe arrives on Mac App Store with Photoshop Elements 9

On the eve of the launch of Apple's Mac OS X Lion, rival software maker Adobe has released a version of Photoshop Elements 9 for the Mac App Store.

Adobe quietly released its Photoshop Elements 9 Editor on Apple's Mac App Store on Tuesday, as noticed by MacCentral. The offering is Adobe's first foray onto the Mac App Store, which many of Apple's competitors have chosen to avoid.

The $79.99 consumer-focused photo editor lacks the Adobe Elements Organizer that the version on Adobe's website has, but otherwise has the same features. The 1.02GB download requires Mac OS X 10.6.6 and is available only in English.

According to Adobe, Photoshop Elements 9 is meant to "complement iPhoto" by offering more advanced photo editing tools, such as Group Shot, Panorama and Style Match Photomerge.

The software giant recently brought some of its Photoshop tools to iOS with a series of iPad apps. In addition to the Photoshop Express tool, Adobe offers Eazel, Color Lava and Nav apps for integrating with Adobe CS5.5.

The company also recently launched a publicity campaign in hopes of capitalizing on user dissatisfaction with Apple's new Final Cut Pro X. Earlier this month, Adobe initiated a "switcher" offer that provides a 50 percent savings to customers who are switching from either Final Cut Pro or Avid Media to Adobe's rival video editing software Premiere Pro.

For its part, Apple opened the Mac App Store for business in January with the release of Mac OS X 10.6.6. The company has moved aggressively to make the digital storefront the primary source for Mac software, as evidenced by Wednesday's Mac App Store-exclusive launch of Mac OS X 10.7 Lion.