Adobe Photoshop Elements is already the best-selling consumer-level photo editing app, but that hasn't stopped Adobe from hailing the latest release as "milestone" in nature. Certainly there is significant new functionality, such as the new Scene Cleaner, based on Adobe’s Photomerge technology, which creates enhanced photos by letting users brush away unwanted objects in a shot. The new Smart Brush helps users apply effects to a specific area of a photo with a single stroke, making it possible to improve lighting and add textures, thanks to more than fifty effects. Common editing tasks, such as whitening teeth or brightening blue skies, can be fixed with the one-step Quick Fix tools. Surfaces can be softened while retaining edges and keeping details crisp, with a new filter geared to portrait shots. And a new selection of Online Albums, based on Adobe Flash technology, offers users a more interactive experience.

While this is all good, it's the upcoming tie-in to the Photoshop.com site (which currently redirects to Adobe.com) that delivers the leap forward justifying the "milestone" label. Adobe has been relentless in leveraging its technologies and customer base online, and with Photoshop.com clearly hopes to capture a large chunk of the hearts and minds of non-professional photographers. Photoshop Elements 7 customers will be able to sign up for membership on Photoshop.com, which will be available in the classic levels of free and paid. The free version will provide 5GB of storage, and online access and sharing of photos in what Adobe calls "a fun interactive environment." However, it's the paid version that clearly has Adobe excited, since it will not only up the storage to 20GB but provide a stream of templates, seasonal artwork and tutorials, as well as automatic online backup of photos and videos, at the cost of $49.99 per year.

Adobe also announced that Photoshop.com members will be able to upload photos directly from a mobile phone, thanks to the Photoshop.com Mobile beta. This Adobe Flash-based mobile application runs in the background and allows users to take photos, send messages and run other applications while pictures are being uploaded to their Photoshop.com account. More information about Photoshop.com membership, which is surprisingly only available in the U.S., is provided on the Adobe site.

Adobe Photoshop Elements 7 for Windows is priced at $99.99 and can be purchased on the Adobe site.