When the average gadget user thinks of PDF readers on their computer or smartphone they think of San Jose-based Adobe, which brought portable document format (PDF) technology to the masses with Adobe Reader and its multiple tools to not just read PDFs but to create them as well. Now a rival has emerged from a company called Foxit Corp., which reached a milestone this past week by being chosen as the default PDF application on a new tablet computer, the HTC Flyer. The Flyer runs Google’s Android mobile operating system.
Despite Adobe’s market share lead, Foxit believes it has a competitive edge because it can create PDFs that run faster, have a smaller footprint and use fewer compute resources than those created using Adobe, all of which are essential to deliver PDFs to new mobile devices such as smartphones, netbooks and tablets, says Frank Kettenstock, vice president of marketing for Fremont-based Foxit.
“We don’t exhaust your system resources for CPU and memory which is increasingly important as computing moves to the mobile market,” Kettenstock said.
At the same time Foxit announced that it will be the PDF reader on the HTC Flyer, it also introduced a new software development kit (SDK) so entrepreneurs can build new PDF-type applications to run on those mobile devices. The Foxit PhantomPDF SDK comes in three versions, the Express version for $49, the Standard for $129 and the Business for $199. More features are added with each high-priced version.
Foxit pays attention to security features,Kettenstock said, knowing that because PDFs are such a prominent document format online that they’re often used to distribute viruses. Foxit security features also protects the documents themselves, giving IT administrators control over who can edit, copy or forward certain PDFs based on their security clearance.
Being the PDF technology of choice for the HTC Flyer is an important coup for Foxit because it gives the 10-year old company an important foothold in the emerging tablet market and with Android, which is the fastest-growing mobile OS for smartphones and tablets.
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