Shantanu Narayen

Adobe Systems Inc. said Tuesday that although it booked a loss in the fiscal fourth quarter, consumer demand improved and allowed the maker of Photoshop and Flash software to post an optimistic outlook for the current period.

The recession has dampened demand for Creative Suite 4, the latest version of the software package targeting professional designers and developers that brings in the bulk of Adobe's revenue. It happened to launch in the fall of 2008, right as the financial meltdown hit.

Adobe Systems Chief Technology Officer Kevin Lynch had good news on Oct. 5 for attendees of his company's annual conference in Los Angeles. The next version of Flash, the company's flagship Web video software, could be used in applications for Apple's iPhone -- developers the world over could use Flash to create downloadable games and other tools for one of the most popular smartphones.

Adobe Systems, the maker of Flash, Acrobat and Photoshop, plans to acquire Utah-based Omniture for $1.8 billion, or $21.50 per share, the companies announced late Tuesday. The deal would combine Adobe's Web design tools with Omniture's Web analytics tools.

If the deal is completed, designers, online marketers, and developers are expected to benefit from additional creative tools while advertisers, publishers and online retailers get a better return on their investments, according to company executives.

One of the biggest complaints about Apple's groundbreaking iPhone has been that it doesn't support Adobe's Flash for interactive animation and video. But late last week Adobe Systems CEO Shantanu Narayen said his company is working with Apple to make it happen.

"It's a hard technical challenge, and that's part of the reason that Adobe and Apple are collaborating," he told the Bloomberg News Service in an interview from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. "The onus is on us to deliver."

Good News, Bad News

In the likely event that you haven't yet mastered everything in Adobe System's massive Creative Suite 3, take a breath. On Tuesday, the company announced CS4.

Adobe said the new version delivers "radical work-flow breakthroughs that bring down the walls between designers and developers." Adobe added that CS4 is "packed" with new features.

All Adobe in One Box

Creative Suite 4 comes in several editions, including Design, Web, Production Premium, and Master Collection. The suite will ship in October at prices ranging from $1,799 to $2,499.

Adobe Systems chief executive Shantanu Narayen wants to make it easier for people to watch online videos, play games and use other sophisticated Internet applications on a variety of cell phones and other mobile devices.

And he'd be extremely happy if they were doing that with the help of Adobe's software. Narayen stressed the need for industry collaboration to create a better mobile Web experience in a keynote speech Thursday at the Wireless IT and Entertainment trade show in San Francisco, sponsored by the wireless industry association known as CTIA.

Adobe Systems Inc.'s profit rose 41 percent in the second quarter because of strong sales and booming demand in international markets.

For the three months ended May 30, the maker of Photoshop design software and the Acrobat publishing tool reported Monday that it earned $214.9 million, or 40 cents per share, compared to $152.5 million, or 25 cents per share, in the same quarter a year ago.

Excluding special items, the software maker reported income of $272.7 million, or 50 cents a share, compared to $223.2 million, or 37 cents a share in the same quarter a year ago.

In the wake of Thursday's announcement by Adobe Systems that it is launching the Open Screen Project to make it easier for developers to use the company's Flash technology on a variety of devices, the lingering question is whether the move simply comes too late.

Over the last few years, the mobile market has burgeoned into a multibillion-dollar industry, but Adobe has struggled to match its desktop market share. Its Flash software is installed on an estimated 98 percent of desktop systems, but only on 30 percent or so of mobile devices.