Adobe has announced Creative Suite version 5.5, for the first an intermediate upgrade between major release. Let's say immediately that this upgrade is not free.

Major enhancements have been added to many programs of the suite (mainly Adonbe Premiere Pro for video making) with except of Photoshop that nevertheless will be enriched with a Photoshop Touch SDK

that will allow developers of applications for Apple iPad, RIM upcoming Playbook device and Android ones to make those applications interact with Photoshop running on a Windows or a Mac. Adobe is preparing 3 apps for iPad to be launched in May to show some capabilities with very low price (undeer 5 $).

The Adobe Photoshop Touch SDK is available at this link but developers need to join the Photoshop 12.1 Developer's Prerelease Program or wait for the release of Photoshop CS5.5 (expected in about one month) to test their applications.

Last news are about the newly introduced subscription pricing model: users can use the current release version of the five Creative Suite bundles or single programs (Photoshop, Photoshop Extended, Illustrator, InDesign, Dreamweaver, Flash Professional, Premiere Pro, After Effects) with a month-to-month or annual subscription. Wen/if the subscription ends up, the software will stop working until renewed, and if not renewed after six months, a fresh subscription will need to be purchased - that's the trick .

Just to give you an idea of the costs, subscription pricing varies from $780 to $1,548 per year for a bundle while a Photoshop standard only subscription is priced $420 annually, while Photoshop Extended is $588 annually. Probably not an attractive model for most common users of Photoshop in my opinion.