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Monday, February 26, 2007

New Release of Corel Snapfire Now Works with Windows Vista

Corel Corporation today announced a new update to Corel® Snapfire™, a breakthrough digital photo and video enhancement and sharing software renowned for its remarkable ease of use and breadth of creative projects. The new release, Snapfire 1.2, has received Works with Windows Vista™ certification to ensure optimized performance on this new operating system. In addition, Snapfire Plus 1.2 – the enhanced version of Snapfire 1.2 – includes integration with muvee™ autoProducer 5, an instant personal movie tool that automatically edits videos and synchronizes stylish visual effects to the beat of music soundtracks.

With Snapfire 1.2, users have access to all the tools they need to easily enhance and share their digital photos. And users who upgrade to Snapfire Plus 1.2, the enhanced version, get more functionality and creative projects as well as the ability to edit and share their video clips. Snapfire Plus 1.2 lets digital camera owners edit and organize their photos and videos and share them using hundreds of creative project templates. Users can also create entertaining Snapfire Shows – highly entertaining slideshows set to music and the best way to share groups of photos and video clips. Snapfire 1.2 Plus also includes one-click photo fixes, retouching tools, effortless organization, and automatic backups of photo collections.

Snapfire 1.2 and Snapfire Plus 1.2 also include several major new enhancements in three key areas – speed and efficiency, ease of use and photo organization. Specific enhancements include the following:

• Faster, more efficient performance especially when creating Snapfire Shows
• The Photo Downloader can now detect CDs and USB devices on the Windows Vista platform
• Thumbnails of photo projects are now easier to find and are located in the Organizer view
• Photo trays are easier to use, making it easier to find, store and manage hundreds of photos and create projects faster

The Snapfire 1.2 update also brings new compatibility and integration with muvee autoProducer, which enables customers to use these two products together to easily create stunning, stylized videos. muvee autoProducer is easy-to-use PC software that lets anyone instantly turn their videos and pictures into professional-quality productions in hundreds of different styles. Snapfire and Snapfire Plus users who download the free, integrated muvee trial can select photos and videos stored in Snapfire and add in music and choose a muvee style. This determines the overall look and feel of the final production. muvee automatically synchronizes themed visual effects and transitions to footage highlights to create a finished production that is ready to be shared. Users need no prior experience working with video and each production is created in seconds – literally thousands of times faster than is possible using conventional video editing tools.

“More than ever, muvee is becoming the tool of choice for consumers everywhere to quickly share their digital photo and video collections with friends and family. As consumers become even more trigger happy, more digital photos and short video clips will be captured. muvee helps them repackage these memories in a more meaningful and emotionally engaging way,” said Terence Swee, Founder and CEO of muvee. “Together with Corel, we’re making it incredibly simple for anyone to turn their captured memories into professional-quality videos that are ready for sharing by making the production process between Snapfire and muvee autoProducer completely seamless.”

“Snapfire 1.2 has emerged as an extremely versatile solution that delivers ease-of-use, creativity and fun in one compelling and affordable package - setting it apart from other digital photo sharing solutions and services,” said Blaine Mathieu, General Manager of Corel’s Digital Media business. “With the addition of Works With Windows Vista certification and integration with muvee autoProducer 5, users will enjoy faster, more efficient performance while exploring new ways to easily create full-blown movies from their photos and video clips.”

To access the free update to Snapfire 1.2, users should open Snapfire or Snapfire Plus and choose Help-Check for Updates. Alternatively, users can download the Snapfire 1.2 or Snapfire 1.2 Plus update from www.snapfire.com.