Corel Announces Corel Snapfire and Corel Snapfire Plus

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Sept. 5, 2006-- Corel Corporation today announced Corel Snapfire and Corel Snapfire Plus, the smart alternatives to traditional digital camera software. These represent the first releases from Corel's next-generation modular digital imaging platform which was first introduced under the code-name "Alta." As a free download, Corel Snapfire provides all the tools users need to easily organize, enhance and share their digital photos and video clips. Easier to use and learn than comparable products, Corel Snapfire is the first free photo software to make a wide range of popular photo and video sharing and organizing capabilities readily accessible to users of all levels.

A special public preview of Corel Snapfire is now available to all users at www.snapfire.com. Users are encouraged to provide valuable feedback and suggestions on how to further improve the Snapfire experience. Users can submit their feedback through a link on the Snapfire website or via the Snapfire Message Center.

Corel Snapfire users can take their creativity to new levels with "Snapfire Shows" -- highly entertaining and customized slideshows that are sure to impress friends and family. With Snapfire Shows, users can quickly and easily bring to life their photos and videos in slideshows that include their own music selections as well as add fun transitions and unique motion effects that zoom in and across the photos and video clips.

In addition, with Corel Snapfire, it is easier than ever to create visually stunning photo projects simply by dropping photos into professionally-designed templates. Even novice users can create professional-quality photo albums, calendars, collages, greeting cards and slideshows within minutes.

"With Snapfire Shows, users of all levels can indulge their creative sides and create visually arresting, highly customized slideshows that truly bring their digital photo and video collections to life. No other free photo software combines these impressive capabilities and special effects with superior ease-of-use and simplicity," said Blaine Mathieu, General Manager of Corel's Digital Imaging business.

"Snapfire truly represents a new generation of digital imaging product," said Alexis Gerard, principal analyst of Future Image and chair of the 6Sight Future of Imaging conference. "Snapfire delivers an array of functionality that fully complements both the still and video functions of today's digital cameras by addressing the many ways consumers today want to enjoy and share their visual memories. It also responds to the mass market's requirements for truly easy-to-use and learn software where tools are right at the user's fingertips, and takes it a step further by integrating the benefits of broadband Internet access into the user's experience."

The mass market needs an easier way to find, store, edit, manage and print their digital photos and videos, according to the 2006 Digital Photo Survey, a national independent consumer study conducted by Corel and online survey services provider Zoomerang. Fifty-five percent of consumers surveyed feel that managing and organizing their digital photo and video collections is "overwhelming and confusing."

"Not only do home users and professionals want their digital photos and videos to be more readily accessible, they are also looking for more fun, easy ways to share them with friends and family from their home PC. For those who want an easier, faster, more reliable and less expensive way to enjoy and manage their growing digital photo and video clip collections, Snapfire is the ideal solution," said Mathieu.

Corel Snapfire Puts The Fun In Photo Sharing
To help novice users quickly master photo and video sharing and organizing tasks, Corel Snapfire provides an easy-to-follow Message Center that guides users to the outstanding features available to them. The Message Center also delivers quick tips, tutorials, news, and information on product updates - making it easier than ever for non-technical users to access Snapfire's features as well as generate creative and impressive multimedia projects. Corel Snapfire's noteworthy capabilities, available through a free download and via an increasing number of partners include:

Organize With zero-click downloading, full-screen Quick Review, and the handy Quick Search, Corel Snapfire takes the effort out of organizing growing digital photo and video collections. Corel Snapfire also automatically scans the computer's My Pictures folder, finds and catalogues all existing photos and videos, and then provides multiple options for easily browsing the collection.
Enhance With Corel Snapfire, it's fun and easy to enhance a user's favorite photos. Users can get started immediately by choosing from simple, one-click photo-improvement features. In addition, the advice of the built-in Photo Doctor is perfect for new digital camera owners or novice software users who may not be sure how to improve their photos.
Create In just minutes, users can make visually stunning photo creations simply by dropping photos into professionally-designed templates. Users can choose from album pages, calendars, collages, greeting cards, and much more.
Share From e-mailing and printing to ordering prints through online photo services, Corel Snapfire makes it easier than ever to share photos and videos. Users can further express their creativity with Snapfire Shows, which goes well beyond traditional photo sharing. These easy-to-create yet visually stunning slide shows can be shared easily, offering users the best way to share multiple photos and video clips, with amazing transitions between photos and video clips, accompanied by a soundtrack of their favorite music.

Corel Snapfire Plus Delivers Even More Power To Ignite Photo Fun
Users can easily upgrade to Snapfire Plus, an enhanced version of Snapfire, as their experience and confidence with digital photo and video sharing and editing grows. Corel Snapfire Plus offers all the popular organization and sharing options of Snapfire, as well as more advanced, yet easy-to-use photo- and video-editing features, including the popular Makeover Tools and Picture Tubes currently found only in Corel Paint Shop Pro. In addition, Corel Snapfire Plus provides more options for creating unique slide shows, including easy video editing and full control over motion effects and transitions, additional project templates, and the PhotoSafe Backup System.

"Snapfire Plus was designed specifically for users who want to evolve to more advanced photo and video editing and sharing without sacrificing the ease of use and learning that are integral to the Snapfire experience. After users master Snapfire, they can easily access more functionality and complete more elaborate and creative photo and video projects with Snapfire Plus," said Mathieu.

Users can add new functionality to Snapfire Plus by upgrading to additional new product feature as they need them. This provides customers with unprecedented levels of control and flexibility in customizing their software experience. The first modular component will add functionality into the Snapfire Plus product to allow users to author Snapfire slideshows to a DVD and play them back in a television DVD player. This module will be available in Q4 2006.

Pricing and Availability
Corel Snapfire is a free download that is available immediately at www.snapfire.com. Priced at $39.99 USD SRP, Snapfire Plus is also available immediately at nation-wide retailers, at www.snapfire.com and via www.corel.com. The new DVD Authoring module, priced at $9.99 USD SRP, will be available in Q4 2006.

SOURCE Corel Corporation