Adobe updates Android, iOS Reader, adds cloud storage
updated 01:36 am EDT, Tue October 16, 2012
Version for iOS adds comment, form printing, more
Adobe is just waiting on Apple's review process before releasing a new version of its Adobe (Acrobat) Reader app for iOS, and while waiting has also updated its Android version to add features that will match the iOS version. Reader, which was last updated for iOS in July, allows users to view and work with PDF documents, including adding text and filling out forms. Among the improvements in the new version are cloud storage, improved forms interactivity, support for FormsCentral PDFs and more.
Also new in the Android and forthcoming iOS version are better highlighting and selecting of Asian text, and secure watermark support. The iOS version will have an advantage over the Android version in its ability to print PDFs, including printing of comments and other markup (which the native iOS PDF printing engine doesn't support).
Cloud storage will be handled through Acrobat.com, allowing users to share PDF documents with other devices and computers directly from within the Reader app. Changes on the document made later on any device will also be saved to the cloud version, ensuring that all devices have the most up-to-date version. The Android version gains the support for field validation, calculation and formatting that was added to the iOS version in the previous update. Both gain support for Field Hierarchies as well.
For users of Adobe's FormsCentral, a service that allows data to be collected from PDF forms filled out by recipients, the PDFs produced by the service are now supported through Form Interactivity on both iOS and Android. Highlighting and selecting Asian and other vertically-oriented text is also now improved. The updated version is available for Android now, and will appear as version 10.4 when it is approved for the App Store. Both editions are free.
