ARES Takes Aim at AutoCAD; DoubleCAD XT Evolves into V2

The difficulty with being a market leader is, everyone wants a piece of you.

Today, Graebert, the German company behind PowerCAD, officially unleashed ARES, another AutoCAD-lookalike. Priced $495 (standard) to $995 (commander edition), Graebert’s software represents a less expensive alternative to Autodesk’s flagship drawing and drafting program, priced $3,995 to $4,425 in the company’s online catalog.

In the announcement, Graebert explains, “The two products [$495 and $995 versions] are identical with the exception of programmability and 3D support, which are found only in [the higher priced] ARES Commander Edition.”

As attractive as its pricing is, Graebert’s ARES must compete with IMSI/Design’s DoubleCAD XT, a similar product available for free. The free version serves as an introduction to the commercial version, DoubleCAD XT Pro, sold bundled with Corel Designer Technical Suite for $695.

IMSI/Design recently released DoubleCAD XT V2, a significant upgrade to its debut release. The new version includes drawing compare, which lets you examine two different files and identify the deviations between them (much in the same way you might compare two versions of a Microsoft Word document using the Compare Documents feature).

Graebert is a founding member of the Open Design Alliance (ODA, formerly known as OpenDWG Alliance). According to company officials, ARES is a not an upgrade to PowerCAD, nor is it based on IntelliCAD technology. It’s a brand new DWG reading-writing product based on ODA’s technology.

Graebert points out that ARES supports nearly 400 of the most commonly used AutoCAD commands. It has also taken great care to design a user interface that minimizes learning curve for AutoCAD users. Beginners may also turn to an ebook on using ARES, authored by well-known CAD blogger and reporter Ralph Grabowski. The book is currently in final stage of editing and expected to be released soon.

Debut release of ARES comes in 13 languages, with options for both simplified Chinese (more commonly used in Beijing and the rest of mainland China) and traditional Chinese (more commonly used in Hong Kong and Taiwan). In addition to the Windows version released today, the company plans to deliver Mac and Linux versions in the second quarter of the year. They’re currently in closed beta. Versions of ARES for mobile and multi-touch devices are also in development.

Graebert is making ARES available to OEM (original equipment manufacturer) licensing, so it could soon emerge under another major software brand’s hoods.

Macworld Expo (Feb 9-13, Moscone Center, San Francisco, CA) attendees may visit Graebert’s booth (667 J) for a demonstration of ARES.

For more, watch the video clip below: