Adobe unveils Reader for Android

Adobe claims 90% of Internet-connected desktops have its PDF-viewing Reader software installed, and the company is also pushing hard into handheld territory with the unveiling of a Reader for Android, says PC Pro.

The main desktop change in Reader X is the completely reworked interface; menus and toolbars have been streamlined, with program functions now primarily in expandable task panes running down the right. Adobe says it has also enabled end-users to add commonly used tools to the main toolbar.

There's also a new focus on Acrobat's Reading mode, which now hides the menu bar as well as all tabs and toolbars so that all you see onscreen is the document.

Sales of tablet computers like Apple's iPad are expected to soar from nearly 20 million units this year to 55 million next year and over 208 million in 2014, according to market research firm Gartner, reports AFP.

Gartner says North America will account for 61% of tablet computer sales this year but its share will drop to 43% in 2014.

Gartner forecast worldwide sales of tablet computers of 19.5 million units in 2010, 54.8 million units in 2011 and more than 208 million units in 2014.

ABI Research forecasts shipment of just over 11 million media tablets and 43 million netbooks for this year, states EE Times India.

These figures are somewhat lower than observers expected at the end of last year based on the diminutive computers' remarkable showing in the period following their introduction. Nonetheless, says ABI Research principal analyst Jeff Orr, "43 million netbook shipments are good growth, just not the meteoric pace of the past couple of years."

Part of the drop in demand for netbooks may be laid at the feet of the potentially competitive media tablets.