“I’ve been following Pixelmator’s development since I first downloaded it last summer, and I’ve found it to be both the most visually arresting graphics program I’ve ever encountered in terms of user interface aesthetics and also very capable and likable in a functional sense. The developers say their target is to make Pixelmator a Photoshop challenger – and that isn’t just hype (if they’re talking Elements rather than CS),” Charles Moore reports for Low End Mac.
“And speaking of Photoshop Elements, the bar is about to be raised substantially with the imminent release of Elements 6 for the Mac. Adobe has kindly supplied me with a prerelease beta copy of Elements 6, and what was already the class of the field in affordable bitmap programs for the Mac is now even more powerful, polished, attractive, and impressive, but Pixelmator (version 1.1.3 of which was released last week) is coming on strong as well,” Moore reports.
“In comparing the two programs, it’s impossible not to infer that Adobe seems to have taken serious notice of Pixelmator, since Photoshop Elements 6’s revised interface appearance, which had been generally ho-hum and bland in previous versions, has received a radical facelift and now sports a charcoal background theme, which obviously has a flattering resemblance to Pixelmator’s stunningly gorgeous obsidian black interface theme. Pixelmator is still better looking, in my estimation, but Elements 6’s more subdued charcoal is arguably more functionally practical,” Moore reports.
“Anyway, I find myself more and more likely to choose Pixelmator for graphics editing chores, partly because it starts up quickly – a very respectable 13 seconds on my 1.33 GHz G4 PowerBook (Photoshop Elements – go make a coffee – well actually about 40 seconds), a distinction that looms larger when you’re using older, slower hardware like I am, but also because once it’s up and running, I can usually accomplish what I need to do quickly and efficiently using Pixelmator’s powerful tool inventory, which I like more and more as I become increasingly familiar with it,” Moore reports.
Moore reports, “Make no mistake, this is one serious and very good graphics application for $59.95.”
Much more in the full article – highly recommended – here.
MacDailyNews Take: MacDailyNews has been using Pixelmator exclusively in place of Adobe Photoshop since early December 2007 for online graphics. Obviously, we can recommend Pixelmator. It is “demoware,” so you can try it before you buy. More info about and download link for Pixelmator: http://www.pixelmator.com/
