Yes, the app is simple enough that users can edit photos quickly. The app has replaced my other photo editing apps – but I’m still using ToyCamera for most of my photo purposes.

What I like:

Simple, but effective photo editing options.

I love, love, love the ability to tint my photos – a very cool way to take a simple photo and really make it pop as though it was taken with a color flash.

What I don’t like:

Overall – I really don’t like that Photoshop for iPhone tries to be an all-in-one. Why should Photoshop try to be what it is not? Photoshop for the desktop is used for editing images. The app tries to also be a place for taking photos (but offers nothing beyond the normal camera) and for sharing photos (why go up against all the other sharing apps).

And, just a simple thing, but why does Adobe offer a different icon for the mobile Photoshop – I miss the opportunity to have a beautiful, aqua-styled icon like the feather icon used for desktop app.

In conclusion:

Adobe’s app should be an extension of itself. Why go up against photo-taking apps? Why go up against photo sharing apps? That’s more to worry about. Adobe should focus on what it does best – elegant and complex, yet simple to use image editing.

Related posts from mblapps:

1. Mobile apps for journalists: Share and discover

Here’s Apple’s description of the camera: “iPhone 3G S features a new 3 megapixel autofocus camera that takes amazing pictures and video, making it easier than ever to capture, edit and share those moments instantly with family and friends. The new autofocus camera adjusts focus, exposure, color and contrast for the best possible image and includes an automatic macro focus for extra close up shots. With the new “tap to focus” feature, you simply touch the display to select an object or area of interest and the camera automatically re-adjusts focus and exposure. You can record incredible high-quality video clips and edit them right on your iPhone 3G S by simply trimming the start and stop points. With iPhone 3G S you can send photos and video by email or MMS and post them to MobileMe or YouTube with just one tap.”

During the announcements, Apple said that the iPhone responsible for 3.5 times more picture uploads to flickr.com. Not much of a surprise to some people, the added camera functionality will really make me happy – as I’ve been using the iPhone as my only camera for a photo-a-day project on flickr this year.

I’m betting that the iPhone’s video camera functionality will mean a dark day for the low-cost cameras by Flip (and other brands). iPhone videos will probably lack the quality available with, say, the Flip HD. But, why carry around my Flip Ultra any more once I get the new iPhone? What do you think?

(Photo: I took this photo Feb. 21 of a tree in my backyard using the Toy Camera app on my iPhone.)

Related posts from mblapps:

1. Photoshop for iPhone should focus on what it does best – image editing

From Apple: ”The voice control feature in iPhone 3G S offers hands free operation for both iPhone and iPod functions. Simply speak the appropriate commands into the built-in microphone or headset microphone to dial by name or number. With voice control you can play your favorite music by artist, album or playlist and activate the Genius feature by saying “play more songs like this.” You can also tell iPhone to pause the music, play the next track, turn on shuffle or ask, “What’s playing right now?”"

An interesting move. Rather than going the route of tactile input (typing on a real keyboard), or handwriting recognition: Apple is using touch and voice.

No related posts.

“Similar to the initial iPhone and Android launches, the software cupboard is bare, with only a dozen apps or so. Smartphones without apps are just expensive feature phones these days, so Palm needs to get the Mojo SDK out the door.”

Related posts from mblapps:

1. Facebook stealing address books from Apple, Palm, Android, Windows
2. Apps for iPhone newbies – apps for your first day

Here’s a beautiful array of Twitter birds and icons.

My favorite thing about Twitterific on my iPhone (and computer) was its icon — that darling, medium-blue bird with great details. But, the app only offered one way to use Twitter — reading tweets by chronology.

I needed a better Twitter app, one that would let me see Twitter by chronology, by user, by search, by replies to me and that would let me follow people within the app.

Along came Tweetie and the app has it all, except I have a dilemma. I love Tweetie and use it daily, so it has to be on my base home screen. But, the logo is really lacking — come on two speech bubbles? Even free Twitterfon has a better icon!

At the very least, Tweetie had enough sense to not choose Twittelator’s icon — an egg. And, I must say, that no matter how cool it is to have the new Tweetgrid on my iPhone, the icon tries to squeeze in too much text. I could really see a cool grid-based icon that gives the Tweetgrid desktop and phone app better branding and recognizability.

Now, please, Tweetie, pick a better icon!

- Screenshot shows icons for various Twitter apps.

Related posts from mblapps:

1. Photoshop for iPhone should focus on what it does best – image editing

The improvements include:

• Faster load times for actions such as opening an e-mail or searching
• Ability to read Gmail over a flaky or non-existent network connection
• Floating bar appears so you can manage multiple e-mails at the same time. Bar floats on the screen as you scroll up and down.
• Labels from the desktop Gmail now appear on your mobile
• Search field moved up into the header
• Any one else bothered like me that some of the Google mobile pages did not have homescreen icons? Back in the day, they were all light blue and white — go to your favorite Google web app such as Gmail, Reader or Calendar now and you’ll see they all have colorized, better-looking homescreen icons.

Screenshots below from my iPhone show some of the improvements. Video (by Google) below shows the new changes.

Google shows off new web interface

Related posts from mblapps:

1. AdMob founder: Mobile is the present, no longer just the future

My rating for this app, read on for details, is two out of five mobile-app monsters. The basic app is good, but the features need tweaking for this to be a great app.

Here are the free app’s features, per Mashable’s post:

• Fast-loading Mashable headlines: Click through to Mashable to read the full story
• Mashable Tweets on Your iPhone: Find social media stories from all around the web in the Mashable Twitter feed, included in the app
• Mashable Posts and Tweets Open within the app: A built-in browser opens the pages without leaving the app, saving the time usually wasted on opening Safari
• Social Media Events Calendar: Get upcoming social media events on your iPhone
• Slick Design: By our design partner, Jess3

I’ll agree that the app has a slick design, but that’s where the features wear off for me.

Headlines: Those fast-loading headlines are great, but when you click it takes you to the full Mashable site. No mobile-version. Not a terrible experience, but really misleading to put a glossy iPhone app front over a non-mobile site.

Mashable tweets: What a well-designed page! But I find it, for the most part, pointless. And that’s because the recent tweets by Mashable are often just links back to the Mashable blog. I could see including the tweets if they at least half of the time provide information not included in the blog.

Built-in browser: I’ll admit it’s nice to have an in-app browser. Very cool.

Events calendar: Another cool feature.

Slick design: Yes, but there are two problems I have with the design. One: no settings are available for the app. A little customization would be nice. And, two: the little badge (numbers that display over the app icon, see in screenshot at top-left below). Plan to open the app, read a few headlines and close it? Mashable will nag you with a persistant number of how many more articles you need to read. I like a badge for my tasks app or for application updates, but not for Mashable.

The unlisted feature, paid ads: Yep, there’s a tab in the app for “featured applications.” Can Mashable be a little more clear and just call those paid ad spots?

Related posts from mblapps:

1. Photoshop for iPhone should focus on what it does best – image editing

When I asked folks on Twitter for favorite app updates @DrewFitz responded with this app update story: “@sonyanews I helped thinkmac with a bug in iKana touch. If you had the sound off, you’d always get 0% on the quiz. He fixed it in an update.”

Here are my favorite and least favorite application updates. Please share your own list in comments.

My favorites:

• The new colors, enhanced visuals and extra tools added to Fieldrunners – an already good game made even better.
• The “easter egg” added to the Google app. I mean, it’s just a nice treat when developers add stuff just for fun.
• Mobile Fotos recently added a small thing or two I cannot remember, but at the same time updated the app’s functionality. Some developers only think of cool things to do with apps, rather than the most important – ease of use aspect.
• A small thing, but still, the improved graphics (and addition of mint chocolate chip ice cream) on the Scoops app are much appreciated (screenshot at right).
  

My least favorites:

• Holiday fish and lights were added in December to the Koi Pond application (screenshot at left).
  
• Fart sounds added to Tweetie – I mean, come on, just leave the farts to the fart apps and the tweets to the Twitter apps.
• 12seconds.tv turns free to gain more users – but fails to actually update the application which has difficult navigation and Windows-Mobile-quality design.
• Twittelator releases an update that includes a new homescreen icon. What? No random egg? Nope, same egg, only this time on a black background. What?!

Please share your own favorite and least favorite application updates in comments!

Related posts from mblapps:

1. Mobile users talk, share more often than other people

1.Bluetooth 3.0

Gartner: The Bluetooth 3.0 specification will be released in 2009, with devices starting to arrive around 2010. Bluetooth 3.0 will likely include features such as ultra-low-power mode that will enable new devices, such as peripherals and sensors, and new applications, such as health monitoring.

mblapps: Bluetooth 3.0 would allow for health care applications (and other unique apps)  that would sync with monitoring devices. If Bluetooth 3.0 uses less battery life that means more power to play games on your cell.

2. Mobile User Interfaces (UIs)

Gartner: UIs will be an area of intense competition in 2009 and 2010, with manufacturers using UIs to differentiate their handsets and platforms. Better interfaces will make the mobile Web more accessible on small devices, and will be a better channel to customers and employees.

mblapps: Customers will be more likely to buy more advanced phones (that can use more applications) if the phones are easy to use. Compiled by mobile firm Mformation, a recent survey found that 85 percent of users reporting they were frustrated by the difficulty of getting a new phone up and working. An easy-to-use interface could also make customers enjoy using their phones, meaning they would be more likely to use their phones for more and more tasks.

3. Location Sensing

Gartner: Location awareness makes mobile applications more powerful and useful; in the future, location will be a key component of contextual applications. Location sensing will also enhance systems, such as mobile presence and mobile social networking. The growing maturity of on-campus location sensing using Wi-Fi opens up a range of new applications exploiting the location of equipment or people. Organizations delivering business or consumer applications should explore the potential of location sensing; however, exploiting it may create new privacy and security challenges.

mblapps: Gartner above spells out how location sharing will help mobile apps. The more users have access to GPS-enabled phones, the more people using services such as Loopt, Brightkite, urbanspoon and other location-based apps.

4. 802.11n

Gartner: 802.11n boosts Wi-Fi data rates to between 100 Mbps and 300 Mbps, and the multiple-input, multiple-output technology used by 802.11n offers the potential for better coverage in some situations. 802.11n is likely to be a long-lived standard that will define Wi-Fi performance for several years. High-speed Wi-Fi is desirable to stream media around the home and office.

mblapps: Increasingly faster Internet offered on mobile devices means developers will have more access than ever to mobile phones — skipping the downloading-apps business model to make web-only apps.

5. Display Technologies

Gartner: During 2009 and 2010, several new display technologies will impact the marketplace, including active pixel displays, passive displays and pico projectors.

mblapps: Mobile phones can be used to play games, watch movies and share presentations — but better displays make cell phones direct competitors with devices such as the Nintendo DS, Sony PSP and ultra-portable computers.

6. Mobile Web and Widgets

Gartner: The mobile Web is emerging as a low-cost way to deliver simple mobile applications to a range of devices. It has some limitations that will not be addressed by 2010 (for example, there will be no universal standards for browser access to handset services, such as the camera or GPS).

mblapps: Better access to the web from mobile phones means some standardizing of mobile Web sites, more opportunities for Web sites and services who could develop mobile sites rather than mobile apps and a chance for companies to increase branding by offering a similar experience from physical locations, the desktop web and mobile phones.

7. Cellular Broadband

Gartner: Wireless broadband exploded in 2008, driven by the availability of technologies such as high-speed downlink packet access and high-speed uplink packet access, combined with attractive pricing from cellular operators.

mblapps: These advancements would allow for faster transfers of large volumes of data — a key development to make video work on mobile phones, less battery life wasted while waiting for data transfers and less dependency on mobile networks.

8. Near Field Communication (NFC)

Gartner: NFC provides a simple and secure way for handsets to communicate over distances of a centimeter or two. NFC is emerging as a leading standard for applications such as mobile payment, with successful trials conducted in several countries. It also has wider applications, such as “touch to exchange information” (for example, to transfer an image from a handset to a digital photo frame, or for a handset to pick up a virtual discount voucher).

mblapps: Companies and customers would become less dependant on things such as credit cards, business cards, USB cords, coupons and other items as those could all someday be transferred wirelessly using mobile applications.

No related posts.

Sure iPhone app icons come in all design styles and colors, but blue is fairly frequent. While one would expect apps for Twitter to be blue-shaded, Google’s main app is blue plus all of its web apps sport blue icons. In the screenshot at left (my apps are alphabetically-ordered and this screen shows S’s to W’s) you can see how the average view on my iPhone is blue, blue and more blue.

Here are some of the big blue hitters: SPORE Origins, Pandora, MySpace, LinkedIn, meebo, Things, LA Times, Scoops, Ambiance, Citysearch, Google Earth, Movies by Flixster, Poker Quest, Shazam, Wee Spider, Summizer, Tetris, Textropolis, Threads, The Weather Channel, Urbanspoon and Facebook (though Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn and meebo have blue logos originally). Also, out of the 16 Apple-made apps, seven have blue as the primary color.

Sensational Color calls the color blue everyone’s “overwhelming “favorite color.” Also, Pantone named the color “Blue Iris” 2008 Color of the Year saying “Combining the stable and calming aspects of blue with the mystical and spiritual qualities of purple, Blue Iris satisfies the need for reassurance in a complex world, while adding a hint of mystery and excitement.”

No related posts.