Snaps On-The-Go lets you choose a pic, add some text, or draw something, and send along an e-Card to whomever you want. It’s a pretty simple App, but well designed. I’ll be honest, that lots of free Apps look like Big Steamy Piles of Garbage, but this one doesn’t, it works well, and looks great. Here is a quick rundown of the pros/cons:

Pro: Adding, and resizing/moving pics is a breeze.
Con: Can’t take photo from within the App, so remember to take your pic before you launch it (or: the developer should look into the Fast-App-Switching for iOS 4 because that would work too).

Pro: Super easy to add text, and you can even draw or write something ‘Sharpie’ Style.
Con: While I actually love the font they’ve used, there’s no option to choose a different one. Nor can you choose different colours of ‘Sharpie’, that could make a great feature to be added in future.

Pro: You’re sending an email right from your iPhone with your e-Card in it, as a pic. No need for the recipient to visit some e-Card website, or worry if you’ve given their email address out to a spammer. This is a big plus.
Con: I know I’m being nit-picky here, but honestly, there’s just too much advertising automatically embedded in the email. While you can simply delete the text at the top of the email (“You’ve recieved a message created with Snaps-on-the-Go“), there’s also a blurb on your e-Card stating the same thing, with the web site listed too. I actually prefer the one on the card, and wish that the App didn’t default to including that top text.

There are two other features that I would love to see in future updates, which would make this App really great (and maybe even 99c worthy!). One would be the ability to put a border on the pic. The e-Card itself looks great, but the bottom ‘message’ bit has a border, and the top ‘picture’ but would look great with one too, even if there were only 10 options or so (different vacation themes? perhaps?) I think it would make the cards look better. The other option (and maybe not everyone would like this) but I would LOVE the ability to tweet my e-Card, or at least to either save my e-Card locally (to then use via TweetDeck).

As it is right now, though, this a fantastic high-quality FREE app from a Canadian Developer, so I think all Canadians with iPhones should go out and snap it up! Heh, geddit?

Basically what Plastic Bullet is, is a filter/effects App which doesn’t do fancy avante-garde art style or funny borders/stamps – it mimics the effects of a Toy Camera or old-style photography. It uses light-leaks, over-exposures, colour tints and lots more to create unique, and beautiful photo edits, randomly.

I’m going to highlight the Random aspect of this, because it’s very important. Most photo editing Apps let you control the effects you’re putting on your photos – not Plastic Bullet. It develops your pics randomly, showing you four options at once, you can click on each to see them full-size and then select the Heart Icon to save them locally. If you’re looking for an App that makes these sorts of images completely custom to your settings, this App is not for you. I, however, am super-lazy and just want to say “yes” or “no” and be left with a whack of cool looking photos.

To get a great overview of how the App works, have a look at the video that the developers created:

(FLASH VIDEO, sorry iOS readers)

Here are a few pics that I edited with Plastic Bullet.

This is the original (taken on a BB Bold, my iPhone 4 was MIA, sorry for the quality ;) ):

My Roommate and her Boyfriend at the Pirate Festival last weekend.

And some Edits:

So, it’s pretty obvious that this App takes boring photos and turns them into awesome looking, vintage even, ‘Photography’. A few downfalls, aside from the lack of customization, that I will note. 1) No matter the original size of the photo, the saved edits will always be 800×600. This is an issue that Red Giant has stated they plan to fix in an upcoming update (However the App itself hasn’t been updated once since its launch in Mid-May). Second, on iOS4 (or possibly just iPhone 4), the orientation is wacky, sometimes. Doesn’t effect picture output, but sometimes makes it difficult to scroll through the edit options. I’m hoping this will also be fixed an a not-too-far-away update.

[UPDATE]
Less than 24hrs after posting this, Red Giant went ahead and did the update that I was waiting for, hooray! The app now fixes all orientation issues, and will save at higher resolutions [exact resolutions based on your iPhone model]. They also added Facebook and Flickr uploading ability – and Multitasking for iOS4.
[/UPDATE]

This App is well worth the $1.99 you’ll shell out for it. I did, and couldn’t be happier.

Top apps lists are a dime a dozen, you’ll find best-of lists on practically any site that reviews apps, but today I bring you a list of apps that are the creams of the crops, the most popular and most powerful for photo editing. Seeing as how Photoshop Mobile is listed, you know the caliber is higher here.

These Apps were chosen as the most popular Apps as a part of the Adorama iPhone Contest.

I’m too lazy to paraphrase, so here’s a clip from the Press Release, but this information added by me.

Adorama (www.adorama.com), one of America’s premier photography and consumer electronics resellers, announces the winners of the first annual APPOS ™ – iPhone App Awards for Photography. The annual APPOS Awards are designed to spotlight the rapid rise in popularity of the iPhone as a new platform for digital point-and-shoot photography and to recognize developers of outstanding photo Apps.

The top 10 winning Apps were selected from among the most frequently used Apps in more than 17,000 images submitted into Adorama’s first annual iPhone Photography Contest. The winning Apps, available on the App Store at iTunes, are:

* Photoshop.com Mobile (Free, no iPad)
* CameraBag ($1.99 on iPhone, $2.99 on iPad)
* Best Camera ($2.99, no iPad)
* Photogene ($1.99, no iPad)
* TiltShift Generator – Fake Miniature ($0.99, no iPad)
* ShakeItPhoto (Free Version, or $0.99, no iPad)
* Hipstamatic ($1.99, no iPad)
* PhotoForge ($2.99 for iPhone, $4.99 for iPad)
* Lo-Mob ($1.99, no iPad)
* Photo fx. ($2.99 for iPhone, ‘Ultra’ $5.99 for iPad)

“Adorama’s first ever APPOS Photo App Awards not only honor software applications and their talented developers, it highlights the endless creative possibilities of using an iPhone as a point-and-shoot camera,” said Ahron Schachter, Adorama spokesperson. “The way users have embraced photo Apps to apply creative enhancements to their photography underscores the widespread acceptance of the mobile imaging platform as a worthwhile photographic tool for sharing images.”

With more than 2,000 photography-related Apps in the Apple iTunes App Store for photography, iPhone owners are using this software on their phones to expand and creatively explore photography in ways not even imaginable on a standard point-and-shoot camera, no less a cellphone camera. These Apps (software programs that load on an iPhone or iPod Touch) are turning the iPhone into a very powerful photographic tool for capturing, editing and manipulating all types of photographic images and graphics right on the iPhone or iPod Touch (no computer needed).

Now, ideally you’ll be using these on your new fancy 5Mp camera on your iPhone 4. Which is just great, but sadly i was mildly disappointed to find that only a small percentage of the above listed apps are on the iPad, I would love to see more of them because Universal. I’m already sick of apps discriminating against it because of its lack of camera. I get that photo editing on the iPhone is much easier though, so I understand – at least there are a few options.

The only other suggestion I can throw into the mix would be Plastic Bullet, but while it does give some fantastically artistic filters and effects for photography – it’s completely random and not customizable like most of the above-featured ones.

 

If anyone has any experience with the Apps above, please share your thoughts. Sadly I have not had the fortune of testing or trying any of the listed apps, however am entirely open to any and all developers of the above mentioned apps to contact me with free promo codes. You know how to reach me.

All Photos used in this post are from the Adorama Photo Contest, credit where credit is due.

PS: Happy Canada Day Everyone!!!

I realize that this article is going to come off as entirely vain – but let me assure you that the obsession is not limited to photos of myself. In fact, I’ve created and saved many a photo of my Hetero Life Partner Angelina too, however have not received express written permission to post her face all over the internets, so you’ll just have to suffice with Just This One of Her (Edited using aforementioned Frame Wiz) for proof that I’m not obsessed with my own visage.

With that out of the way we can get on to more important things. Pictures of Me.

I took one photo and decided to try out two different Apps for photo editing: Be Funky FX App and the simply titled Cool Photo Effects App. It was immediately apparent that these were two very different Apps, and that I should probably not compare the two. This is why this is a double review, not a Photo Editing App Showdown.

There really is no limit to the number of photo editing Apps on the iTunes Store. The reason that I’m reviewing these two is simple. One, The developer for Cool Photo Effects asked me to try it out. Two, BeFunky has a range of 99¢ Apps that are basically the filters from BeFunky FX – if you’re searching for a Photo Editing App, you’re going to trip over BeFunky’s Apps, so at least I could give you my opinion.

Lets get to the good stuff, first BeFunky FX.

This App, as mentioned above, is basically a collection of all their 99¢ Apps Filters combined, 11 Filters to be exact. But each has its own variations – 3 or 4, which means something near 50 possible photo options. Obviously, the success of each filter being applied, and actually looking good is variable depending on lighting, focus, etc, but for the most part my photos came out great. My favorite part of these filters is that they range from Modern to Old-Timey, but never Kitschy (stay tuned for that in a minute).

On to samples, here is my “Before” Pic (which I used to test on both Apps):

And here are some examples of “After” using BeFunky FX:

I know you’re probably wondering which filters were which but by the time I got around to uploading them I honestly forgot, sorry! (Although I’m pretty sure the purple one is a version of Inkify.)

Obviously, from the examples above you can tell that this isn’t something that’s overly complicated to do yourself in Photoshop (See the Icon Photo I created for this Post as an example) – a few Hue/Saturations here, a lens flare/pixelate there and you’re done. But having the ability to funkify your photos right on your phone, with one click, is pretty sweet. In the settings you can also share your pics via Facebook, Flickr or Twitter. As those are the only three social networking sites I frequent, I liked that feature a lot. FYI I did have trouble with a few of the filters, Cartoonizer, Charcol and Old Photo were giving me particular hell with this photo, but like I said I bet it depends largely on the lighting and focus of your original import.

If you search ‘BeFunky’ in the iTunes Store you’ll see all 10 of their Apps, including FX, but also including a few 99¢ options that aren’t included in FX such as Sunburst and Worholizer. If you’re thinking of picking up a couple, than your best bet is to just get the full FX App for $1.99.

On to Cool Photo Effects.
I guess these are technically ‘effects’ however I would argue they’re more closely related to Frames. Basically what this App does is inserts your photo into a scene/background for dramatic/artistic effect. Don’t understand what I mean, just have a look at the samples I made (using the same ‘Before’ picture above);

Uh huh. What was that I said about Kitsch?

Not bad, not bad. I’m certain there is an audience out there for which this is appealing. I am not the target demographic for this App, however I am fair, and trying to cater to highlight more iPhone Apps ‘for Girls’, so I think I can safely, and gently, put this in that pile. This app does function very well – although there is no option for email or social media integration (only saves locally) from within the App, which is a feature that should absolutely be included especially if they think they’re going to sell it for $1.99. Another drawback is that they are only 35 odd ‘Effects’. Very limited at this price range – would probably have more success if it were a 99¢ App.

So that pretty much wraps it up for these two Apps. I shall now retire that photograph for good by turning it into The Ultimate ‘Photo Editing App’ Edited Photo – having been put first through BeFunky FX (‘Motion Color’ Filter #1), Frame Wiz (‘Emo’ Frame #6), and finally finished off with Puri! (for the Stamps).
Enjoy:

I get a lot of Google Traffic for people looking for iPad Apps for Girls, so I thought I’d actually do a review for an App that I think fits that search result. This is a really fun App, and although I don’t subscribe to gender stereotypes in general, I figure that most of the users of this App will be female.

If you don’t know what Purikura (aka Print Club) are, you’re missing out. Simply they’re photos that have been decorated with lots of awesome/adorable images, borders, speech bubbles or anything else. In Japan, they’re crazy-popular, for sticker collecting and trading, etc. Honestly, I’m not going to lie, I probably spent several tens of dollars on Purikura during my visits to Japan, so finding an App that does this was pretty exciting. In case you’re still wondering basically what this App does is this:

Before & After

Puri offers two versions. Puri! Lite & the Paid version. For the purposes of this review, I’m going to focus on the Lite version, and then briefly compare to the paid one.

I was instantly impressed with Puri! Lite, I was honestly shocked that there were so many choices when it came to borders & stamps. The features for this free app are astounding, as the iTunes Description boasts, over 80 Frames, over 100 Stamps, and the ability to add speech bubbles & more. You can obviously save to your Phone, but you can also email from within the App, or Export to Facebook. And to top it off, if you really do want physical Stickers of the photo you’ve made, you can order it right through Puri (although I was never able to connect to the server to check on costs).

I was so impressed with this Free App, in fact, that I specifically sought out the developers to let them I know I wanted to review the full version. Before I talk about the differences, I want to state that Puri! Lite has quickly become one of my favorite Apps, hands down, a tonne of fun. Download it.

Puri (Full Version), however, sigh… Not. It’s a not because it’s not a great App, but because it doesn’t really compare as a paid version of Puri Lite. Lite is so feature-rich and includes most of the frames/stamps that are available in the full version, in fact, I don’t even think the options doubled. The problem here is this. They made the Free App *too good*, however I can’t really fault them for that, because it’s still a lot of fun. Basically what it boils down to is this, if you’re love Puri Lite and are buying the full version, don’t expect too much of an upgrade – but think of it like this – you’re giving the company a $2.99 donation for a few more stamps/frames, but really, you’re thanking them for making Puri Lite so awesome.

One last one, for the road: