AutoCAD for Apple Mac is here. Not only that, the scaled down version, AutoCAD WS, is here for the iPhone and the iPad. We’ve not got the brief, video or screenshots of what it looks like yet, but needless to say, this has been a longtime CAD on the Mac fiend desire. The OS X version releases October for $3,995. Free mobile versions for iPhone, iPad and iPod to follow.
News and beta screenshots broke about this back in May. It’s long been speculated, but a week after Graebert released their AutoCAD competitor ARES for the Mac, Autodesk is back to make their mark in the world of Apple. Yes, they’ve been here before. The last version for a Mac was AutoCAD R12 back in 1992. Things have changed a bit since then and, if you hadn’t noticed, there’s been a bit of a Mac addict resurgence. So, who can blame Autodesk, both with Apple’s Mac, iPhone and iPad popularity and Autodesk’s wildly successful venture into mobile apps with Sketchbook Mobile and FluidFX.
We’ll take a closer look as more news and info come out. Are you down with buying AutoCAD for your Mac, or are you holding out for some 3D goodness?
Side Note: It’s interesting that NYT broke this. These things are never on accident. Some of you use Macs and will flip sideways about this news, but now, look at it from the NYT reader’s perspective – the investor, the corporate America mac user, the Sunday catch up via the NYT feed people. These and others are the people Autodesk is targeting.
So, NYT got the scoop (and linkbacks), but you’ll be hearing more details from the product dev industry bloggers and journalists over the coming weeks.
Updates:
More news is coming out as the morning goes on…
AutoCAD on the Mac Video
The fancy preview video… I swear there’s a cameo by Jeff Goldblum at 0:23…
AutoCAD WS for iPhone and iPad
Do you remember Project Butterfly? Ever think of the other applications for the “AutoCAD on the web” tech? This is where it’s transitioned. Project Butterfly ‘Mobile’ is AutoCAD WS. It’s odd to see how this will work since Butterfly is a Flash-based web app and iTouch devices won’t run Flash. HTML5? Virtualized from an offsite server?
Ralph Grabowski comments on the news – WorldCAD Access
Deelip comments on the news – Deelip.com
Al Dean has his comments at Develop3D – Develop3D
Mac/AutoCAD image via Ocell.net
