CAD Pioneer Graebert GmbH Announces ARES, The First Native CAD Solution For All 3 Major Operating Systems & Mobile

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Macworld 2010, booth 667 J – Graebert™ GmbH (Berlin) – one of the pioneering companies in high-performance CAD solutions for desktop and mobile devices – today announced ARES™, the industry's first native cross-platform CAD solution.  ARES provides both industry compatibility and the highest-performance features and capabilities for mission-critical design workflow.  Details may be found at www.graebert.com.

ARES uses a common design interface and is the first CAD solution to run natively across Microsoft® Windows®, Apple® Mac® OS X and Linux®, while also being optimized for specific operating system features and capabilities.  ARES also includes innovative and powerful features such as built-in VoiceNotes for created files, 3D modeling support via the latest ACIS libraries and more.

Upcoming versions of ARES will be available for Microsoft Windows Mobile® devices – both Apple iPad® and the Google® Android® operating system are under active evaluation for porting as well.  ARES will be initially available in 13 languages from the entire worldwide network of Graebert distributors and partners, as well as select OEMs.

ARES development has focused on a number of core benchmarks, with performance being a leading criterion: ARES is typically 3-5X faster in operations such as open and save than other CAD packages on any platform.  With more than a year of intensive beta testing by more than 100 major corporations and leading CAD users, ARES is the end-result of more than 250 man-years of development (5 calendar years) from Graebert, one of the pioneers in CAD software development since 1983.  

Graebert is well known internationally for leading mobile CAD solutions such as SiteMaster™ as well as having more than 500,000 estimated users of PowerCAD™, its previous-generation CAD product.  The company has more than 50 active VARs and OEMs on six continents, and is working with these and new partners to distribute ARES worldwide.

"Several Fortune® 500 companies have been using ARES as part of our intensive beta test – to them, ARES really does represent the next-generation of CAD solution," said Wilfried Graebert, Founder and CEO of Graebert GmbH.  

"Using ARES, they have been able to create designs in far less time than with competitive solutions – the feedback has been identical - ARES is an impressive product that lived up to their demanding expectations."

Key features of ARES include:

• DWG native format - Graebert is a founding member of the Open Design Alliance and sits on the Board of Directors.  ARES supports DWG Import (2.x -> 2009), Export (12->2009) and DWG 2009 Native format (DWG 2010 support coming in 2nd Quarter, 2010)
• AutoCAD-compatible command line and scripts
• More than 400 new commands
• Drawing recovery
• Latest ACIS 3D modeling support
• I/O Support for DWG 2.5 -> 2009, DWF, SAT, WMF, SLD, ESRI & SHP
• Exceptional print capabilities, including PDF, Raster & SVG
• UI optimized for each native operating system as well as an XML-based, fully customizable UI with a built-in designer
• Widest range of programming I/O support, including Lisp, C, Delphi, COM, .net (C#, VB.net), C++ and VSTA

Pricing and availability:

ARES will ship in two different price configurations – ARES ($495) and ARES Commander Edition ($995).  The two products are identical with the exception of programmability and 3D support, which are found only in ARES Commander Edition.  Both ARES and ARES Commander Edition for Microsoft Windows are available immediately as trial downloads from www.graebert.com - the Mac and Linux versions are currently part of a closed Beta process (request an invite at www.graebert.com) and are expected to ship in the 2nd quarter of 2010.

About Graebert:

Paralleling the rise of the personal computer, Graebert GmbH (Berlin) has more than 30 years expertise in delivering high-performance, affordable solutions for both the PC and mobile CAD markets.  Graebert's award-winning products are fully compliant with industry standards and have been mission-critical for customers ranging from the largest Fortune® 500 companies to individual architects.

In 1999, Graebert GmbH recognized the need for professional CAD in the growing market of mobile devices and developed PowerCAD CE, the first professional and fully functional 2D and 3D CAD System for Windows CE™. The company's award-winning SiteMaster™ solution has measured thousands of public and private facilities throughout Europe, Asia and North America.

Further details at www.graebert.com and www.graebert-isurvey.com

ARES, SiteMaster and Graebert are trademarks of Graebert GmbH.  All others trademarks and registered trademarks previously cited are the property of their respective owners and are hereby acknowledged.

SOURCE Graebert