AppAdvice App Of The Week For October 1, 2012
Every week, our staff will handpick an app from the past two weeks that we believe is a must-download for your iPhone or iPad. These apps will always be from various categories, but they are chosen because our own staff members love it and have been using them daily. So here are this week’s picks! Enjoy!
Camera+ for iPad
I’m sure that all of us (or most) use our iPhone for snapping pictures. And for that, we probably use Camera+ from tap tap tap. But how about the iPad? When will there be a good camera replacement app for the iPad that comes with built-in editing functionality? The answer is now, with Camera+ for iPad.
With the iPad version, photographers are able to get all of the good fundamentals that are found in the iPhone version, just on the larger screen. So you get separate focus and exposure controls and locks, on-screen grid, zoom, VolumeSnap, stabilizer, timer, and burst capture modes.
However, I’m pretty sure that even with these great capture features, one will still look ridiculous taking photos with an iPad. That’s why Camera+ for iPad focuses more on editing in the Lightbox.
If you have the iPhone version, you can now sync your images in the Lightbox with iCloud sync. This works instantaneously, as any new images captured or imported on your iPhone or iPad will appear on the other device right away. In my use with it, I have had no problems. The iPad version also includes some new import sources, including Facebook and Flickr.
Editing in Camera+ for iPad is a joy. From the Lightbox, you can see image EXIF data, including all of the edits that you’ve made so far in Camera+ for iPad. As you go into the editing mode, you get the five basic tools: Scenes, Adjust, Crops, Effects, and Borders. For the Adjust and Effects tools, you will see all of your tweaks at once and make adjustments accordingly. Effects can finally be layered, so you can create a completely unique look.
Most of our staff has been using Camera+ on iPhone since it first came out, and we’ve been extremely pleased with it. We are glad to see it finally arrive on the iPad, complete with some new and unique features. The Lightbox iCloud sync is amazing and works flawlessly as well, making it easier than ever to get photos from our iPhones to our iPads.
Make sure to grab Camera+ for iPad for $0.99 in the App Store for a limited time.
Check out my original review of Camera+ for iPad here.
Honorable Mention
Jasmine - YouTube Client
Even though YouTube won our App of the Week title last week, that doesn’t mean that we haven’t been trying out other third-party YouTube app replacements. And at the moment, we are in love with Jasmine, a beautifully minimal app for viewing YouTube videos that is brought to you by the same team behind Alien Blue.
Jasmine features a very clean and simple interface, with the home screen being the main navigational menu. You can Search, Browse, see your Favorites, Playlists, and Subscriptions, as well as any recently played videos. If you search, prepare to be amazed with the beautiful animation that is implemented, where the bar flips over to reveal the search field.
Lists of videos will appear, with a thumbnail of the clip on the left, and information on the right. Tapping the thumbnail image will immediately play the video, while a tap on the right side will bring up the video detail screen. You can view the video description (though links aren’t clickable yet), related videos, view the uploader’s channel to subscribe or unsubscribe, see comments and add your own, as well as add videos to your favorites or playlists. Don’t forget to share the love with friends too.
By default, Jasmine has a light theme, but there is a darker night theme for viewing videos in the dark. You can also adjust the dimming, text size, and more. The best thing about Jasmine that makes it better than Google’s YouTube app, though, is the fact that it allows for background playback.
If you’re looking for a better solution to getting your YouTube video fix, then definitely check out Jasmine. It provides a far superior experience when browsing YouTube.
Please be aware that due to limits with licensed videos on YouTube (mostly music and television related videos), Jasmine may be restricted from playing certain videos. The developer will try to find a way to sub-license some feeds, but there are no guarantees.
Regardless, Jasmine - YouTube Client is available for free in the App Store, with a $1.99 in app purchase to upgrade to “Pro” (Parental Filters and support development), so it’s worth a download. Jasmine requires iOS 6 and is iPhone 5 optimized.
You can find my original review of Jasmine - YouTube Client here.
