Update
Yesterday, Facebook released an update to their iPhone App that added their new "Places" feature. Places is similar to other social networking sites like Gowalla and Foursquare in that the App can use your current location to alert your friends that you're currently visiting a particular nearby location/business via a "check in". I tested out the Places feature last night once it went live and it seems to work as you would expect. There are some Privacy concerns, so you should probably update your Privacy settings immediately to dictate who can see your check ins. See more about my Facebook Privacy Setting Recommendations here. Places is currently only available in the US.
Facebook also gains a feature I've been wanting in that you can now on a per status update basis decide who can see that particular update. I use the List feature quite a bit to decide who can see my photos and status updates. It's great to be able to do this via the iPhone App now. This has been available via the web interface for some time and I'm glad to see it make its way into the App. Lastly the Facebook App can upload photos and videos in the background when running under iOS 4.
You can get Facebook here from the 
I've always been impressed with Knocking Live Video (reviewed here earlier) for allowing users to quickly show other iPhone/iPod touch users what they are seeing by broadcasting their camera's live feed even over 3G. This new 2.0 version takes things up a notch by adding sound AND it takes advantage of the iPhone 4 by allowing you to use either the rear camera or the front facing camera. You can also use the LED flash as a video light if needed. Now you can also control the video quality with a user selectable setting low, medium or high. Over 3G, the video is not as good as over WiFi (not surprising), but at least it does allow you to use video over 3G, which FaceTime currently does not (natively). Also keep in mind that this App is still for oneway broadcasting. So it's you showing another iOS device user your video and sound (two way speaker phone option too). It's great for those "OMG you won't believe what I'm seeing right now!" moments.
Knocking Live Video works with any iPhone or iPod touch running iOS 4 or higher. Although this update works, I did run into a few warnings (even on WiFi) stating that my connection may not be good enough. Not sure if that's a bug or just overloaded servers. Once it connects, it works great.
You can get Knocking Live Video here for FREE from the
There is also an Android version so that you can Stream video between platforms.
Blackberry is coming soon according to the developer.
Adobe just released an update Photoshop Express (formally called Photoshop.com Mobile) App for all iOS devices!
What's New In Version 1.3
• Initial support for iPad
• New name: Adobe® Photoshop® Express
• Updated UI
• Bug fixes and performance improvements
Features specific to iPad:
• Support for portrait and landscape orientations
• Redesigned Online, Edit, and Upload workflows
• Ability to work on multiple photos in sequence from within a single workflow
• Redesigned Organizer view with simplified album sharing
• Updated icons and visuals that make it easier to navigate and use the Editor
• Ability to upload to Photoshop.com and Facebook simultaneously
one small bug: Although everything seems to be working great on the iPad, I did run into one bug while launching the app in landscape mode with the Adobe tab chosen on the iPad. So if you have a crash just launch it in portrait mode first. If you switch to any other tab, say the Edit tab for example, you should then be able to launch the App in Landscape mode just fine. I've already reported the bug and it appears to be related to other Apps (in my case ePrint) trying to hi-jack the sample images.
UPDATE: The 1.3.1 update is now available that fixes the iPad landscape launch crash and other bugs.
You can get Photoshop Express for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch as a FREE download here from the
I recorded this video to walk you though some of the features AND I've got a tip for using the iPad Camera Connection Kit:
My holy trinity of iOS 4 multitasking aware Apps is now complete. Starting with the original iPod App we could listen to our music in the background on the iPhone (iOS devices) and continue working in other Apps. With iOS 4 we can now do this with 3rd party Apps. The next one on my list was Pandora Radio and lastly the Sirius XM Premium Online App. So now I can not only listen to my music and free internet radio, but I can also play my favorite Sirius/XM stations in the background while I work in other Apps. So if you're on an iPhone 3GS or iPhone 4 running iOS 4 and you have a Sirius/XM Premium Online Account, you can now listen and do other things at the same time.
You can get the Sirius XM Premium Online App for FREE here on the
My favorite iPhone/iPod touch turn-by-turn GPS navigation App just got better. The 1.6 update brings iOS 4 compatibility, which of course the big news here is that it continues to work in the background if you receive a call. That's right! You'll continue to receive voice directions if another App is running in the foreground. Also once you end your call the App will take about 1 second to update the screen with your current position. That's not all. Navigon also updated the maps to the latest versions and they've added weather info for both your destination and while you're in route as well as available parking at your destination.
I took it for a test spin
Over the weekend I took the New updated Navigon App for a test drive and without even having to plan ahead, I received a call while navigating. I took the call over the hands-free bluetooth in my car and the voice prompts continued. Once I hung up from the call I was immediately returned to the app. If you want to still see the display while you're driving you can just use fast app switching in iOS 4 to go right back to Navigon and continue talking.
My setup above is:
- The iPhone 4
- The Magellan Premium Car Kit
- A GPS beanbag friction dashboard mount
FAQ: Yes, all of the Maps are built-in to the App. No, you don't need a data connection while you're using it (except for the weather, parking and Google POI search). No it does't require your data plan (except for the 3 things I just mentioned). No it doesn't require a Car Kit unless you're using an iPod touch, which doesn't have a GPS (the car kit does). No, there are no monthly fees. You buy the App and you're done.
Navigon also put there Apps on Sale! Get the Navigon Mobile Navigator North America App here from the
If you don't need the whole country (or you live/travel in a different country, check out their cheaper My Region Series and their other Apps here 
The competition between all of these apps has been great and as result we (the consumers) just keep winning.
If you're a MobileMe customer and you own an iDevice, then there is simply no reason not to download the MobileMe iDisk app. It allows you to access the contents of your iDisk, view documents stored on it and share documents stored on it by sending links. It also give you easy access to your friend's iDisk Public Folder. This new updated version now offers:
- Native iPad support (in addition to iPhone and iPod touch)
- iOS 4 multitasking support
- Quick switch between this app and other apps
- Background audio playback from files on your iDisk
- Remembering the last directory you were viewing when you return to the app
- Open In command to say view a PDF from your iDisk in ReaddleDocs (my preferred PDF viewer) or iBooks
- and various sharing improvements
While I certainly welcome ALL of the above improvements and can't argue with the price of the App, iDisk still misses the mark when it comes to getting content ON TO YOUR iDISK from your iDevice. It's great that if I have a document on my iDisk that I can open it in a compatible App on my iDevice. However, what about the other way around. Let's say I create a Keynote document and I want to quickly share it with a colleague via my iDisk. Currently there is no "Open In iDisk" support. So outside of using email, the workflow going from documents you create on your iDevice out to others falls apart pretty quickly. Even if you open a PDF in say your email, you can use the Open In command to send it to iBooks and other 3rd party apps, but not the iDisk app, sigh… Otherwise, this is a good update.
You can get the MobileMe iDisk App here for FREE from the App Store: 
You can get a deal on MobileMe here.
If you're looking for more power and features, then I would check out Air Sharing HD, which also supports the MobileMe iDisk, FTP servers, shared printers and other WebDAV servers The PDF we see above was in ReaddleDocs and I used the Open In command to open it in Air Sharing HD. From there I used the Copy command before navigating to my iDisk in Air Sharing HD and doing a Paste to upload it to my Documents folder.
You can get AirSharing HD here for $9.99 from the
P.S. Apple now can we get some MobileMe Gallery App Love for iPad?
If you just got your NEW iPhone 4 or you've upgraded your 3GS to iOS 4 chances are you're chomping at the bit to get some Apps that really take advantage of it. Sadly, there aren't a slew of apps yet that really take advantage of iOS 4's power. However, they're on the way and in the meantime I've picked 5 "Must Have iPhone 4 Apps" that are ready to go today:
TomTom
Although I'm more of a fan of Navigon, I do have to give it to TomTom for getting an update out quickly that allows you to run your Navigation app in the background under iOS 4. So now if a call comes in, you can take the call while TomTomcontinues to know your location and guide you in the background.
Get it here from the
Pandora Radio
This one is a no brainer! Pandora Radio is a great personalized internet radio station right on your iDevice that now can run in the background streaming music while you work in other Apps. Definitely a must have!
Get it here from the
I know it's iPhone 4 order day and you're not paying attention to anything else right now, but I have to tell you about one exciting App update and that's Kindle for iPhone. Although I'm not that big of a book reader, I do use reference manuals and how-to books all the time. I don't read these books from cover-to-cover. Instead, I grab them and look something up on a subject that I'm currently working on. That brings me to my Kindle Books. I've got half a dozen Kindle Books loaded on my iPhone 3GS and while it's great having them with me wherever I go, the one big missing feature from this App has been NO SEARCHING within the book. While this might not be a big deal for a novel, it's huge for a reference book. Well on Friday last week Amazon updated the Kindle App with IN BOOK SEARCH! Now you can do searches within your Kindle Books and when the results appear you can just tap to go right to the page you want to read. Finally! By the way, Amazon also announced that this same feature would added to the iPad version very soon.
Although the iBooks App and iBookstore are visually compelling, Kindle has WAY MORE titles at this point. So having the ability to have Kindle books on my iDevices is huge! The other thing is that Kindle was already syncing your place between your various devices and you only have to buy the books once. Steve Jobs made a big deal about this with iBooks and keep the record straight, Kindle has been doing this since day one even on the iPhone.
You can get the Kindle App for FREE here from the App Store.
Say it with me: "Competition is good!"
When I reviewed the iPad WiFi+3G model on Monday (here), I couldn't help but notice that the ABC Player App wouldn't allow playback over a 3G connection. Well it didn't take long for ABC to update the App and to get it out (like literally the next day 
) and on the App Store, to work on a 3G network. This is good news for those on an unlimited data plan and will probably make those on the AT&T 250MB plan think twice. Video does consume a lot of bandwidth and even if it's lower quality/smaller sized video like YouTube is doing on 3G, it still eats up some MBs. So while I certainly welcome this update, it is making the $29.99/month AT&T unlimited data plan seem more and more attractive.
You can download the Free ABC Player App here from the App Store
There is a fierce competition going on between these top apps that allow photographers and videographers the ability to create Model and Property releases right on their iPhones, iPads and iPod touches. The client can sign right on the device itself and the app generates a PDF of the release and then allows you to email it to the client and yourself. They are both GREAT Apps and their latest updates really blur the line between them. At this point I would have no problem recommending either one as both developers have implemented a lot of my feedback to make their Apps even better. So it really boils down to what do YOU need?
Let me tell you what I'm looking for and then I'll give you a breakdown/comparison of what they both offer. First off, if the App can't allow me to put in my own CUSTOM release text then I'm not going to even look at it. Both of these Apps allow this. Next I want to be able to start the process with a contact already in my iPhone. Yep, they both do that now too. I also want to be able to put a photo on the release of the model or property that I just shot. They now both handle that. Next, it would be nice if I could customize the release a little further with my own logo/branding. One does it now and other one is promising it in an upcoming release. Lastly, I want an iPad version too since the iPad will become an integral part of my photography workflow. One of them has an iPad native version now and other one is working on it. Although both Apps either have everything I want now or will soon, there still isn't a clear winner because now it comes down to the way that these Apps have implemented these features. Like most things, the user experience matters a lot and to me it will ultimately be the deciding factor. Even if they both have the same feature set in the end, I'm still going to decide based on HOW these features work and right now each App has things I like and things I wish were better or worked differently.
How do they compare?
In the comparison below I'll highlight in green which App does it better even if they do the same thing.
| Easy Release | Photographers Contract Maker | |
| Custom Release Text | Yes | Yes |
| Multiple Page Releases | No | Yes |
| Bring in data from an existing contact including the photo | Yes | Yes |
| Easily replace the photo on the release with one you just shot | Yes | Not so easy (uses Address book photo only) |
| Add Your own Custom Logo | Yes | Not yet |
| iPad Native Version | Yes | Not yet |
| Sign the Release on Screen | Yes | Yes |
| Email a PDF of the Release | Yes | Yes |
| Number of Fields/Placeholders Allowed in the Custom Release | 2 | 29 |
| Witness Photo | No | Yes |
| Price | $9.99 | $2.99 |
Even though Easy Release has more greens at the moment than Photographers Contract Maker, it's not the clear winner because of a couple of things that I would still need tweaked. First off although you can easily add your logo/branding, it's either all or nothing. I have one release that I don't want my logo on because it's for my employer. So I either have to DELETE it from all releases or not have that one release in this App. A simple checkbox "include branding" for each release OR better yet, let me put the custom logo on each release that way I can have a work logo for the work release and my photography logo for my own releases. Also I find only having 2 fields/placeholders for your info to be inserted into the releases to be very limiting. I at least need to be able to put in the shoot date into the wording of my contract and Photographers Contract Maker offers 29 fields/placeholders making your custom releases really really custom and automated.
So at this point my buying advice is to buy either one that suits your needs. Again you can't go wrong. At the end of the day I think Photographers Contract Maker will probably please more photographers whose focus is on the actual contract. It would be nice that if in addition to bringing in the photo from the Address Book contact that I could easily swap it out with one I just took rather than replacing the one on the Contact Record, but overall Photographers Contract Maker has the better support for custom releases. With that said, the visual representation of the final contract is still better in Easy Release. It just looks better!
You can get Easy Release here from the App Store: 
You can get Photographers Contract Maker here from the App Store:
