Written by Frederic Lardinois / October 27, 2008 11:30 AM / 5 Comments
Aviary, an impressive suite of online image editing tools, just launched after an extensive private beta test. The suite consists of the Phoenix image editor, the Peacock image laboratory, which allows you to create very nifty special effects through a Yahoo Pipes-like interface, and theToucan color management application. Subscribers to Aviary's most costly subscription plan also get access to the Raven vector editor. The first 100 RWW readers who subscribe to Aviary's yearly subscription plan before November 3rd will receive a $55 discount off of Aviary's regular price.
Aviary is indeed a very comprehensive image editing suite. While testing the different applications, we were impressed with the overall speed of the service and how closely the apps resembled more traditional desktop tools. While the feature set of Phoenix, the core program in the suite, doesn't quite rival that of more fully-featured desktop applications like Photoshop or evenPaint.NET, the combination of all the Aviary apps makes this suite an attractive alternative.
Like most of its free rivals like FotoFlexer or Picnik, Aviary can import pictures from most of the popular online photo-sharing sites, including Flickr, Facebok, and Picasa. Its features, however, go far beyond the functionality of these free online applications and the Peacock application allows you to experiment with images in ways that no other online application has allowed you to do so far.
Discount Offer
Overall, Aviary is definitely worth a try. You can sign up for a free (but limited) account here, or follow this link to claim your $55 discount if you decide to go for the paid version before November 3rd.