telerik, a leading vendor of UI components for .NET development, claims that the product will enable developers to build "previously impossible interfaces" - with highly attractive features like zooming, rotation, Flash-like animations, vector transformations, transparencies, and so on.

Here are the main features of radControls Q4 2006 for ASP.NET and Windows Forms:

• Vista UI unleashed – The latest radControls for WinForms is the first component suite that enables developers to enrich Windows applications with elegant Vista-style interface. Not only can they build Vista-like applications with radControls for WinForms, but these will look consistently the same on Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Vista. • RibbonBar control – With the easy-to-design implementation of the Microsoft Office 2007 Ribbon user interface, telerik Ribbonbar helps developers organize all the application functionality in a single ribbon containing literally unlimited number of nested controls. This includes not only the Office 2007 look, but also the context-aware architecture with contextual tabs, and the newly added Key Tips, part of the ribbon-specific keyboard navigation.

• Flash-like animations – Creating attractive animations effects and element transformations is particularly easy with telerik radControls for WinForms. The underlying product framework allows you to animate any numeric property and gradually change it from one state to another. This is particularly useful for colors, dimensions, positioning, etc.

• Shape-a-delic – The connoisseurs of non-traditional forms will definitely play on the Shape Designer. It will free their hands to create curved, free-form designs for UI elements on an integrated drawing surface. With no code involved, it keeps their design as simple as possible.

• Inspired by WPF – The unique telerik Presentation Framework goes beyond application development to bring the WPF look to WinForms. For developers who are still not ready to switch to WPF, telerik offers an alternative without the need to learn the new WPF development paradigm.

The WinForms suite is also enriched with a Panelbar control. With its impressive functionality, including four different working modes, support for multiple columns and hierarchical panelbar behavior through support for nesting of various items, radPanelbar for WinForms allows developers to quickly add an Outlook XP/2007 panel to their application.

Three key product updates hit the target in ASP.NET Q4 2006 Volume – radEditor 7.0, radChart 3.0 and radGrid 4.5.

radEditor has proven as the most sophisticated WYSIWYG editor on the market in terms of performance and user experience. The new update follows the steps of its predecessors – now radEditor offers intuitive Word-like inline spellchecking. Thanks to the integrated radSpell 3.0, the core of the AJAX spellchecking capabilities, users can perform an instant, postback-free check of their writings.

Although very important, the improvements in terms of AJAX capabilities of the Q4 2006 release are not limited to particular component features. The whole suite comes with complete support for ASP.NET AJAX 1.0 Release Candidate.

“By using telerik products, developers can be sure that they stay on top of technology. We follow our commitment to always be hand-in-hand with Microsoft releases”, says Rumen Stankov, ASP.NET Team Manager at telerik. “As soon as the Release Candidate of ASP.NET AJAX has been available, we have made all necessary changes for radControls to work with it. All components have been extensively tested and I am proud to say that our Q4 release supports ASP.NET AJAX 1.0 RC, and will, of course, support the official ASP.NET AJAX release, expected next month.”

Another key update in the Q4 2006 release is the long-awaited radChart 3.0. The list of new features includes full Visual Studio 2005 design time support, comprehensive chart wizard, and the most advanced databinding capabilities on the market.

Licensing, Source Code and Availability As of Q4 2006, all trial versions of telerik controls do not require license keys. Trials can be conveniently deployed on any development, test or production machine and evaluated within a 30-day period.

telerik radControls Q4 2006 is available with Single Developer license at $799 and Single Developer Subscription license at $999. The suite includes full C# and JavaScript source code and redistribution rights. The Q4 update is free for all customers with an active Subscription and includes versions for both .NET 1.x and for .NET 2.0 (with full support for Visual Studio .NET 2005).

Quick Links

Discover the full potential of radControls for WinForms: http://www.telerik.com/products/winforms/overview.aspx

Learn more about radPanerlbar for WinForms: http://www.telerik.com/products/winforms/controls/panelbar/overview.aspx

Experience the radControls with the online demos: http://www.telerik.com/r.a.d.controls

Enjoy a true Word-like experience with the new AJAX spell checking in radEditor: http://www.telerik.com/r.a.d.editor

 See the new radChart 3.0 in action: http://www.telerik.com/r.a.d.chart