VERDICT New interface and animation features and the ability to produce simple cross-platform Silverlight browser applications – too simple.
Expression Blend lies at the heart of Microsoft’s mission to make application development richer and more efficient as this is where you design the end user interface. XAML, Microsoft’s presentational markup language, is naturally central and Blend is the one Studio application where you can directly edit your XAML complete with full coding support. To code efficiently you really need to be able to see the effect of your changes as you work and Blend 2 adds the crucial Split view that makes this possible.

VERDICT: Radical improvement of the production workflow for desktop application development - and of the results that can be achieved.

Expression Blend is the central component of the new Expression Studio suite and of Microsoft’s drive to become a major player in the world of design software...

Microsoft pulls off an extraordinary feat reinventing desktop application design, but it's only the taste of things to come regarding the web.

For years now there has been talk of Microsoft’s determination to move into the design software territory normally associated with Adobe. Now, with the launch of the Expression Studio suite, the talk is over – so how does it shape up?