Adobe Systems Inc. has launched the Photoshop.com Mobile for Android software, extending digital-imaging technology to users of Google?s operating system.

The release comes less than a month after the launch of Photoshop.com Mobile for Apple?s iPhone, which has become one of the ?Top Free? applications in the App Store. The Android application equips consumers with image-editing tools, color adjustments and photo-sharing capabilities.

?With Photoshop.com for Android, Adobe wants to provide users with a quick and effective way to improve photos right on their mobile device,? said Geoff Baum, director of product management and marketing for Photoshop.com at Adobe Systems, San Jose, CA.

?We designed the user experience to take advantage of the capabilities of the Android OS, including editing capabilities specifically tailored for the type of cameras found on Android-based phones,? he said. ?We also wanted to be sure edited photos could be easily shared and viewed directly on the phone, or from any online computer.

?We understand that Photoshop.com users are more frequently using their Android phones as cameras, and we wanted to give them a device-based tool to extend and complement the capabilities of their Photoshop.com accounts.?

Adobe Photoshop CS4 and Photoshop CS4 Extended are the company?s core digital-imagery products.

Photoshop Lightroom addresses the workflow needs of professional and serious amateur photographers.

Photoshop Elements provides exciting tools and sharing options for photo enthusiasts.

Lastly, snap shooters can access Photoshop.com for free online photo editing to simply fix and enhance photos and quickly share those images on social-networking sites or through Photoshop.com online galleries.

Photoshop for smartphones
Photoshop.com Mobile optimizes the camera-phone experience by letting users browse for their photos online and on their phone, directly from the application.

The application is free and available in the Android Market. The application is currently available in the U.S. and Canada only.

Photoshop.com Mobile for Android offers photo-editing tools like crop, rotate and flip.

The Soft Focus filter can be used to create a subtle blur effect and for performing color adjustments such as exposure, saturation, tint changes and classic black-and-white.

Since all edits and changes can be undone, users can be confident that their original photo will be safe.

After making edits on their Android device, users can upload photos from their phone to their Photoshop.com account to view and retrieve their images at a later time from any Internet-connected computer.

In addition, Photoshop.com Mobile for Android offers features only available on Android phones.

Users can automatically upload pictures to Photoshop.com albums in the background, even when the Photoshop.com Mobile application is not running.

Photoshop.com accounts provide 2GB of free online photo storage, which equates to more than 1,500 photos.

Made possible by the Android API, the new tab-based user interface enables users to view local and online content.

Also, the Android Photo Browser is optimized for each smartphone?s user interface.

?The target demographic is Android users who want to have quick and easy access to photo editing and sharing on the go,? Mr. Baum said.

In addition to Android, the Photoshop.com application is available on the iPhone and Microsoft?s Windows Mobile phones.

Adobe is promoting the Android application through a variety of channels, including through the Photoshop.com user and on Photoshop.com Mobile sites and emails to its opted-in users.

?In addition, we?ve been working with a variety of members of the traditional media, as well as bloggers who focus on this space,? Mr. Baum said. ?We?re also working with Google and with various mobile service providers and handset manufacturers to promote the application.

?Finally, our team is using social media channels, such as Facebook and Twitter, sharing the latest news, collecting user feedback and answering user questions,? he said.