Four Of The Best Photo Editing Apps For Your iPhone!

When taking photos on the move, sometimes it pays to have photo editing apps. After all, you’re not going to tweet that picture without a bit of increased contrast, or brightness – right? It’s a well-known fact nowadays that the majority of photos we see on the web have being edited in some way in a graphics package such as Adobe Photoshop. But what if you can’t get to your computer and need reliable and feature filled editing applications on the move?

Being a keen photographer and designer, I thought it’d be fun to give you my low-down on the photo editing apps I personally think you should have on your phone. I’ll explain why I think you should have them, and what features and benefits I like most about each application. Here we go!

PhotoForge

Definitely one of the more fully-featured photo editing App Store offerings, PhotoForge (in my opinion) should have you pretty much covered for your mobile editing needs. Just like all the editors I’m about to feature, the app will allow you to open, edit and save a photo to your iPhone’s camera roll. What makes PhotoForge a great pick for this over it’s competition is it’s feature set. As well as allowing you to rotate and crop your photo, the app also offers a wide range of both adjustment and visual effects which are comparable to Adobe Photoshop on a mobile level.
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100,000 apps and growing pains.

On November 28th 2008 Apple hit a landmark for their iPhone App Store. They reached 10,000 approved applications for their device. Less then a year later, Apple has hit another landmark in approving their 100,000th app. This number is mind boggling when you think about the amount of development man hours that have gone into it.

Recently I’ve read some other saddening numbers in that some developers are seeing piracy rates of upwards of 90% on their applications. I firmly believe that Apple’s recent move to allow developers to sell in game purchases in their free apps is a direct response to the massive pirating we see going on. If developers, publishers, startups and the like are going to make money consistently on the device in a complete sea of pirates and the race to $0.99 they are going to do start thinking and doing things completely differently. A lot of people are starting to expect a lot of game for almost no money. The problem is very few companies can exist by merely selling their app for such a low price, but then you’ll almost never get noticed if you price yourself higher. It is definitely a catch 22 for many devs. What I see happening in this space is that the devs who take the model of giving their game away for free and then convincing me to go farther by spending $0.99 or $1.99 will more likely succeed. The other approach is to lock people out of the game based on a timed events similar to how iMob does it. There may even be a 3rd or 4th solution to this problem that has yet to emerge.

This flood of apps will not stop, and some analysts are saying that we’ll see 250,000 applications by this time next year and that number may even be low if we look at the growth pattern over the last year and half. Crazy as it sounds, I think this is just the tip of the iceberg that will be the app store. Everyone will be developing stuff for the iPhone. At some point, Apple will be changing it’s slogan to “There are 100 apps for that” as extreme over saturation hits in all areas. Even Adobe is releasing a Flash game converter that allows you to make your Flash game into an app and with that every Flash game will get converted in no time.

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A Day In The Life

I’ll say it now – I’m an iPhone addict.

Every week, I have to go to a 12 step program designed to wean me off my addiction.* But, you know what? It’s not working. You see, to be cured of an addiction you have to want to be cured. I love my iPhone. It’s a part of my life. It’s never far from my grasp, and I use it many, many times throughout my day. I don’t want to be cured.

Paul Pelosi (look at his hands) is also an iPhone addict.

When I first got my iPhone, I was amazed – due to the superb implementation of the web, that I could actually use it to buy my wife’s Christmas presents… from the sofa… while she sat next to me. I would ask her what she wanted, she’d have a little think, then tell me, then I’d buy it, without her even realising her wishes were coming true within seconds of her uttering the words. She might as well have been saying abracadabra. It was magical, and exciting in a way only another iPhone-phile can understand.

This is how my iPhone and I spend the day.

Wake Up Call
Even before I awake, my iPhone is there for me, dragging me from my slumber with the sound of Marimba. Clock has become my Alarm Clock. I’ve even taught it not to wake me at all at the weekend – at those times my iPhone allows me to dream on (although my daughter does not respect the covenant me and the iPhone have made).
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148 is Not Enough, Apple Heard Us!

In one of the lesser talked about new features of iPhone OS 3.0, you can now install more than 148 applications on your iPhone. With OS 3, the number of pages you can fill with applications has been raised from 9 to 11. This gives you a maximum number of applications you can display of 180.

So now the next question will obviously be, are you going to change the name of the site to 180Apps? No, we aren’t going to change. We’re happy with 148Apps and we’re sticking with it.

One of our slogans around here at 148Apps has been “148 Is Not Enough!” — there are even t-shirts available with that slogan. And now, are we supposed to change that?

Truth be told, with OS 3.0 there really is no limit to the number of apps you can install — other than available storage space. Even though your phone will get slower and slower with the more applications you install, you can keep adding them. The only limit is the number of applications that you can see on your phone application launcher. That maximum to display is 11 pages or a total of 180 icons including the 4 in the tray at the bottom. Beyond the 180 icons displayed, you can use Spotlight search to find and launch the applications. The only problem with this is that it will be nearly impossible to remember what applications you have installed beyond the 180 you can display.

It’s a very odd decision for Apple to make. Why add only 2 more pages? Why not just allow for an infinite number of pages? And even though there are only 11 pages, why allow users to install more than what you can display? These are answers that we will never know as Apple never discusses such minute details. We’ll just have to guess as to their motive. Personally, I think the whole reason was that they heard our call to add more — but didn’t want to make us too happy.

A solid golf game that will remain on your iPhone for as long as you have it. With bright graphics, quality controls, and fun multiplayer, this app is definitely a winner.

Flower Garden: Show Your Mom You Love Her With An iPhone App

With Mothers Day right around the corner (Sunday, in case you forgot) I figured that it might be time to start planning out exactly what I’d be doing to show my mom that I appreciate everything she’s done and continues to do for me. The traditional ideas passed through my head: bring her out for dinner, treat her to a spa day, and of course, buy her flowers. This was all before my inner nerd took over and thought: what iPhone app could help me out with this.

If my mom were perhaps as tech savvy of a lady as, say Christine Morris, one of our excellent reviewers here at 148Apps.com, this could be a lot of fun. I’d load her phone up with various iPhone apps that would allow her to simplify the tasks in her day to day life along with games for her to play when she gets bored. Unfortunately, my mom just recently upgraded from her blue Nokia brick of a phone to whatever her carrier offered her for free this month.

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Macworld Expo Toolkit for iPhone

If you are coming to Macworld, you will be in the heart of San Francisco. Whether you have been here before or not, there are some essential apps you should load on your iPhone for worry-free navigation of the Expo and the city.

iMacworld

Category: Reference
Released: 2008-12-13
Price: FREE

Without question, the #1 app you should have is iMacworld. The latest update adds Session info and detailed maps of the Halls, plus an easy to search directory of vendors and products. My only wish is that this app had been around for previous Expos.

Handshake

Our Rating: :: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Category: Social Networking
Released: 2008-10-22
Price: FREE

For you elbow-rubbing and social networking types, download a copy of Handshake. Handshake will allow you to easily exchange your contact info with other iPhone users without worrying about loosing those pesky business cards that fall to the bottom of your goodie bags.

Easy Wi-Fi for AT&T iPhones

Category: Utilities
Released: 2008-11-29
Price: $2.99

There are a TON of Starbucks in San Francisco. To log on to get your free iPhone wifi connection from AT&T, download Easy Wi-Fi for AT&T. It costs $0.99, but it is totally worth it for speeding up your connection to hotspots to check your voluminous email, or to download one of the apps you just read about in this article.

Routesy Bay Area San Francisco Muni and BART

Our Rating: :: RECOMMENDED

Category: Navigation
Released: 2008-07-11
Price: $3.99

If you are combining your Expo trip with your vacation plans, or hope to explore the city a bit, Routesy can provide you with all the local MUNI transit information and schedules. If you don’t want to spend the $2.99 for Routesy, there are also two Web 2.0 apps available that you can use with Safari for free.

NextBus (www.nextmuni.com)

MUNI Time (sf.munitime.com)

iBART (Free)

Category: Navigation
Released: 2008-08-22
Price: FREE

If you are flying into the San Francisco or Oakland airports, and don’t plan on renting a car, you will need to take BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit). To get BART schedules and maps of stops, download iBART. There is a BART train that goes directly from SFO to downtown, just blocks from Moscone. Trips from the Oakland airport require a short $3 shuttlebus trip to the BART station before continuing to San Francisco.

Yelp

Our Rating: :: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Category: Travel
Released: 2008-07-11
Price: FREE

The mobile version of Yelp is great at helping to find eateries and night spots in the city during your Macworld stay. The only problem might be that there are too many great spots to visit making it hard to choose. Yelp is especially handy since there aren’t a lot of places right around Moscone, and the ones that are will probably be packed with Expo-goers. Wear some comfortable shoes and hike to some of the more out of the way spots.

twiddlerSF

Category: Travel
Released: 2008-12-07
Price: $1.99

Finally, if you are looking for something to do outside of the Expo venue, try twiddlerSF which is a great app that can randomly choose a place to go in the city or an event, based on your “mood” and how far you want to travel. It also had a cool spinner interface.

Diversions For The Trip Home

We’re just starting out for the mad rush of travel back home for the holidays. Whether you are stuck in the airport for what seems like days-on-end — or just need a little break from the loved-ones, we’ve got you covered. We’re going to look for some great apps to help you survive the trip home and back.

This isn’t going to be a wrap-up of holiday titles. No, we’re looking for those apps that can provide both hours and hours a entertainment while stuck in the airport — and just a few minutes of fun while you avoid try to avoid the visiting uncle quacks when he walks.

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Pssst — We’ve Giving Out Promo Codes For Free Apps

In these tough economic times it’s always good to get something free, right? We’ve been contacting some of our favorite app developers and convincing them to give us some of their promo codes so that we can give them to you! It’s pretty easy, no need to register, no need to fill out a form, no need to post a comment, you just have to have mad copy-paste skills. To get notified of the promo codes, just follow our Twitter stream.

We’ve already sent out a few to our followers and will be sending out some more in about an hour. So follow us now or just check that web page. More information about the promo codes available on our about page.

And if any developers out there want to get in on the fun, check out our about page for more info.