I'm pleased to share with you that today, we have announced a major upgrade to our Essentials product line with Photo Essentials 3. This new version is slated for release in mid to late October and will be compatible with the recently announced Photoshop Elements 8 for Mac & Windows.

In addition to adding support for the new Photoshop Elements 8 (as well as versions 6 and 7 on Windows and versions 6 and 8 on the Mac - there was no Mac Elements version 7), there are several new features in Photo Essentials 3. Here is a quick run down of what's new.

• The Make It Better module has been completely updated with a new correction and enhancement algorithm based on technology from Im-sense. This update to the Make It Better module will increase the dynamic range (i.e. shadows & highlights exposed properly) with very little interaction on your part. The software takes care of it!
• The Frame It Module has new content and layouts designed for family events, sporting events, birthdays, etc.
• The Enlarge It Module gets an updated version of our Genuine Fractals technology to make resizing photos better than before.
• The Cut It Out Module is the same as in version 2 of Photo Essentials.
• Finally, we're adding a new module called Make It Cool which is based on our PhotoTools 2 product line that allows you to apply some very cool effects to your photos inside of Photoshop Elements.

As mentioned before, we expect this to be available in mid to late October and the retail price will be $69.99. If you'd like to be notified when Photo Essentials 3 is released, send me a note using our contact form. In the meantime, anybody who buys Essentials 2 between now and the ship date of Essentials 3, gets Photo Essentials 3 for free.