Adobe has released a free beta preview version of a new HTML5 Web motion and interaction design tool ‘Edge’.

The company claims the new tool allows designers to bring animation to websites using standards likes HTML, JavaScript and CSS. It is expected to play animations on platforms that don’t support Flash, such as the iPad and iPhone.

Adobe says that Edge will be updated regularly to add new functionality, stay ahead of evolving Web standards, and incorporate user feedback to provide the best functionality and experience possible.

The full paid launch of the tool is expected to take place in 2012.

The present version of Edge focuses primarily on adding rich motion design to new or existing HTML projects.

Adobe said the new tool could: create new compositions; import popular Web graphics such as SVG, PNG, JPG or GIF files; choreograph animation with the timeline editor; energise existing HTML files with motion, while preserving the integrity of CSS-based HTML layouts; and copy and paste transitions, invert them, and choose from over 25 built-in easing effects for added creativity.

Adobe Design and Web Engineering vice-president Paul Gubbay said over the last year Adobe has delivered on several significant HTML5 milestones including contributions to jQuery, submitting code to WebKit, and enhanced HTML5 output in Creative Suite® 5.5.

Gubbay added, "Now, with Adobe Edge, we’re taking our HTML5 tooling to a whole new level and look forward to getting some really useful feedback from the community over the next few months, as we refine the product."

Last month, Adobe Enterprise head Rob Tarkoff had told CBR he believes "Apple clearly has to catch up" with rival tablets and smartphones that are able to run Adobe’s Flash multimedia platform.

Apple has so far blocked the ability to run Flash on iPhones, iPods or iPads, limiting the ability to see Flash-based video, animation and other Flash-based interactivity on some websites.

In an open letter in April 2010, Apple chief Steve Jobs said the reason he wouldn’t let Flash into that ecosystem was down to the fact Flash is, in his view, proprietary Adobe technology, and Apple prefers to support open standards such as HTML5, CSS and JavaScript. "While Adobe’s Flash products are widely available, this does not mean they are open, since they are controlled entirely by Adobe and available only from Adobe," Jobs said.

In his letter in April 2010 Jobs made it clear he was unlikely to change his mind any time soon: "New open standards created in the mobile era, such as HTML5, will win on mobile devices (and PCs too). Perhaps Adobe should focus more on creating great HTML5 tools for the future, and less on criticising Apple for leaving the past behind."