What's that song? Who sings that? Oh I remember that song, but was that the original artist? If you've ever uttered any of these phrases you need SoundHound! SoundHound is a music recognition App for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. While this App is known for the music recognition feature, there is so much more to it, making it a must have!

Bread and Butter

As I said, this App is known for it's music recognition. Say a song comes on the radio that you want to go home and download but you don't know the title. All you have to do is fire up SoundHound tap the large button in the middle that says "what's that song" and hold your phone within listening distance (usually if you can hear it, so can SoundHound) and within seconds it will tell you the song, the album, and the artist. It doesn't get much better than that. Sound hound has a very robust database of songs meaning that there aren't many songs that it won't know. I haven't found a song yet that it didn't know. 

Not a One Trick Pony

There are a couple of more features that SoundHound offers to help you with your music selection and identification. On the top left you can enter a song title or artist. Entering the first, will give album and artist info. Entering the latter will give you an album and a song list.  I love this! There are often times that I know the artist that I want to look up, but I don't know all of their album names, or I don't know all of the songs that they have put out. Sound hound lets me easily and quickly search this info.

The next feature is similar to the recognition App. You can tap on the button on the top right button and say either the name or artist name instead of typing it. This is really nice for times when you don't want to type it out or don't know how to spell an artist, song, or album name.

Conclusion

Sound hound is awesome. If you need/want to find song/artist/album information quickly and easily, this is the App for you.  There is a free version, and a paid version of this App. The paid version offers no ads, wiki links and other little features that I don't really care about so I have to suggest that you download the free version. There is no limit to the number of song look-ups with the free version so I can't see a reason for the added expense.  So for the quality and price, what do you have to lose! Click below and download it now!

This is the 3rd App of this type that I have reviewed (see my review of mRelease and Photographer's Contract Maker). Each of these Apps promises to eliminate the need for carrying around paper based Model and Property releases. The first App I tried, mRelease was really slick but lacked the ability to create a "custom" release using your own text. Then BestAppSite readers turned me on to Photographer's Contract Maker, which does allow for custom text but lacks the ability to put in a photo of the model/building on the release and doesn't let you put in your own logo. Although I knew about Easy Release, I immediately dismissed it back then because it also lacked the ability to do custom releases. However, that's all changed now with their latest update. 

Easy Release 1.5 Almost Does it All!

A BestAppSite reader turned me on to the 1.5 update and while I am satisfied with Photographer's Contract Maker for the most part (I used it at Photoshop World for both model releases and custom corporate interview releases and it rocked!), I wanted to give this App a spin. Being the most expensive of the bunch at $9.99 I was a little hesitant, However, I was lured in by the fact that it had the missing features I wanted. Not only did the update bring custom releases, but it also has the ability to have a photo (from either your iPhone camera or your Camera Roll/Albums) on the release AND allows you to put in your own custom logo/branding! Cool! 

Get it here:

There is one problem though…

It doesn't import your Contacts!

The one thing I'm majorly disappointed in is that this App takes a huge step backwards when it comes to entering information. When you go to do a model release you can't bring in the model's info from your Contacts. That's right, you have to re-key everything! The name, address, phone number, email and birthdate. I corresponded with the developer on this issue and their reasoning was that they gather more information than you're likely to have in your contacts such as ethnicity and gender. However, since your contact record would have 95% of what you need I STRONGLY recommend to the developer that they re-think this. Why not at least have the app START with your contact and then simply go to the next screen and fill in the couple of items that are specific to the app? I'm not a fan of duplication of effort especially when it comes to keying in tedious info on my iPhone such as addresses, phone numbers and email addresses. Granted once you do the manual entry as long as that release stays on your iPhone you'll be able to bring that Model's info in again if you shoot with her/him again. However, if you delete the release the Model info is deleted too (another flaw). This may be fine for people that only work with a person once or twice. However, I build relationships with the talent that I work with and they are in my Contacts for future work!

The iPhone is a "smart phone" and I expect my Apps to leverage the data that's already there whenever possible! Since the other two Apps can do this, I expect nothing less from the App especially since it costs MORE!

The Release Looks Sweet!

I have to admit that I really do like the final release that this app produces. Basically you have your custom text on the left and the photo, model info and signatures on the right. I did have a minor issue at first when I put my logo in because it was so wide it was pushing text into the model's name. I reported the issue and then reworked my logo to be on two lines instead of one long line and now it works great.

Room for Improvement

I definitely want support for importing my Contact info. Aside from that, I would like a couple more tweaks. First off, there are only two dynamic field choices for the custom releases and they are MODEL and PHOTOGRAPHER. I'd like to see Model Email address and Shoot Date Added for sure. I should really be able to Add in ANY field that's already being captured such as Model Address, Phone number, etc., but I really need Shoot Date because one of my custom releases mentions the "shoot on this date________" and it would be nice to have the app be able to insert that in.

The next thing is that while I love having my Logo on my release, I have more than one release and one my releases is for my employer. My logo can't be on that release. So I'd either like to see a custom logo feature for EACH RELEASE or at least the ability to turn it On/Off per release.

The Bottom Line

All of these Apps are great and they are all one or two features away from being PERFECT! This App would be my favorite hands down if they would let me bring in my Model's info from my Contacts (I'm begging you to add this). Otherwise it's the closest to everything I want.

It will also be interesting to see which one of these takes advantage of the iPad's larger display in their next update.

Get a Stylus!

If you're going to be a doing a lot of these, you might want to make an investment in a iPhone stylus to make it easier for your clients to sign. I got one of these and I LOVE IT! Makes it so much easier to sign!

I'm thrilled to see so many choices in Turn-by-Turn navigation Apps for the iPhone. Being an early adopter of a few of these Apps and still really loving the Navigon App, I know that it's fierce competition in this market that makes it great for all of us. However, what do you do when someone offers Turn-by-Turn navigation for FREE? Hmmm. Well that's exactly what Mapquest Mobile has done! Now you have to keep in mind the difference here between an App like Navigon Mobile Navigator and Mapquest. Besides the price, Navigon includes the maps in the App itself. So no internet connection is required to use it. However, with Mapquest it's pulling everything in from the internet as you drive. For urban areas, that's probably not a problem, but for areas where you might lose your data signal you would also lose your navigation. Rather than go on and on about this App myself, I'd rather turn you over to the review that my buddy Jack Beckman wrote here. This is his first Navigation App for the iPhone and he compares it with his Garmin Nuvi 765t. See Jack's full review here.

Get it here: 

Chances are you've heard of social networking site like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. All of these sites let you post status updates or "tweets" to tell your friends or followers what your'e doing. Gowalla takes it up a notch by being geared more towards letting your friends and family know where you are. So instead of posting a status update of "watching TV on the couch", you actually GET OUT OF THE HOUSE and go places. Once you get to a destination like a restaurant, bar, airport, mall, pub, famous landmark, coffee house, museum or other hangout, you "check in". The App detects your current location and lists the surrounding places. You simply tap on a known location and Check In. All of your friends will see this when they look at the recent activity or even better when they get a push notification. If the location you're at hasn't been added to the list yet, you can be the first to create it!

It's not for everyone

Since this App is geared to let people know where you are RIGHT NOW! I don't use this with just anyone. I use it with "known" family and friends. In other words people that I actually know and have no problem if they knew where I was. It's also kind of fun to go beyond checking in and play along by picking up and leaving virtual items in locations for others. If you don't want yet another thing to have to update, this App can also (Optionally) post to Twitter and Facebook for you too. So you could in theory use the one App to let EVERYONE know where you are

Get it here: 

The Bottom Line

Social Networking is Fun! It's not for everyone, and I caution you on the amount of information you share with total strangers. However, used correctly this could be a useful communications tool. You can also add pictures to the locations you visit. Sort of like "I was here". Lastly, the one problem I'm having with this App is that the Facebook integration seems to be broken. Others are saying the same thing. Hopefully that gets fixed soon.

Every now and then an App comes along that makes me go WOW! Today that App is Knocking Live Video. This FREE (yes Free) App allows you to send a live video feed from your iPhone to another iPhone or iPod touch running the same App. No the iPhone sending the video doesn't have to be a 3GS. It uses the standard iPhone camera on any iPhone. While this would be great for sudo video calls, you do have to keep in mind that the camera is on the back of your iPhone so you would have to hold it backwards while you talk on speaker phone. 

Are you seeing this?

Now you can not only send someone a MMS message with a picture, but you can say "hey, check this out" and send them a live video feed. I'm very impressed with this. Although it doesn't send audio, it does send video even over a 3G connection. So WiFi is NOT required. It also supports Push notifications so that you can "knock" on your firend's or family's iPhone and they can then respond to the request by launching the App and accepting the request. Once they do they'll start seeing whatever you point your camera at. Granted your frame rate/quality will only be as good as your data connection and theirs. 

Setup does require registering a free account and setting up a user name. You can then search for your friends and add them to your buddy/friend list. At that point you can "Knock" on them whenever you want. 

The Bottom Line

There is no reason NOT to have this App. In my initial tests it works well. Not fluid video by any means, but certainly acceptable and you can't beat the price!

We buy books on photography, we take classes, we watch tutorials, we ask the photographers we admire for tips. We do this constantly because every photographer wants to be a better photographer. I haven't met a photographer yet that says, "I'm perfect and there's nothing else that I need to learn." We're always looking to learn new ways or better ways of capturing an image. I'm here at Photoshop World in Orlando and of course I'm surrounded by some of the best photographers in the world. So needless to say, I'm learning! I ran into Rick Sammon during a break and we started talking Apps. I was reminded that Rick has an App that is geared give you tons of photography tips to make you a better photographer right in your iPhone or iPod touch.

It's like having Rick Sammon in your pocket

Rick's App is very well organized with practical tips and techniques about various aspects of shooting AND editing your images. Rick's App is aimed at one thing, making you a better photographer. The content in the App is organized into 5 major sections, Seeing, Making, Editing, Tips, and Help. It's one of the first Apps that has a section on "Seeing". What this means is learning how to see a picture in your mind before ever picking up your camera. I know lots of people that take pictures, but they lack vision! This simply means that they don't have a good eye. I'm not sure that this is something that can be learned, but if it can this section of the App will definitely help you! There is over 100MB's of content in this App. While that may sound like a lot to take up room on your device, the good thing is that once the App is installed you can use it offline.

The Tips are well organized by category

The Bottom Line

Unless you think you're perfect and know all that there is to know, chances are there is something that you can learn from Rick's App. Although I feel that I'm pretty good at photography, I'm constantly learning and this app puts useful tips right at my finger tips no matter what kind of camera I'm shooting with.

I'm pretty easy when it comes to an alarm clock. The one that's built-in to the iPhone actually serves my needs quite well when I travel and I have a Bose Wave Radio/CD Player as an Alarm clock at home. It wakes me to my favorite radio station. Life is good. However, being the gadget junky that I am I couldn't resist the chance to check out the new iA5 "app enhanced alarm clock". What makes this one so special compared to all the other iHome alarm clocks that have come and gone over the years is that this one integrates with an App on your iPhone or iPod touch. So instead of the traditional buttons for setting the alarm, time, brightness, etc. you do it all from the App. Also the App goes beyond just simple "wake up" alarms. You can setup multiple alarms and schedules. You can have certain information displayed upon wakeup. You can even have it tweet or update your Facebook status when you wake or go to sleep (OK, just say no!). The App will even keep statistics on your sleep patterns, so that if you fill tired all the time you can really see if you're getting enough or too much sleep. 

Taking advantage of the iPhone OS 3.0 Hardware Integration Abilities

When iPhone OS 3.0 was introduced, one of the promises was that App developers would have more control over hardware through the dock connector. iHome has taken advantage of this in their App and iA5 alarm clock. Although the App can be used with ANY SPEAKER system or on its own, it really sings when you use it with the iA5. Speaking of the iA5 check out my video review here.

More info at a glance

The nice thing about this App is that you wake up to instant information. For example, it uses your location to give you an instant weather update such as the current conditions and temperature. You can also have it display your Facebook updates from your friends that took place while you were sleeping. 

The Bottom Line

While this App is good and does what it says, it's a little complex at times. For example, I created a couple of custom messages that I wanted to update my Facebook status with upon wake and sleep, but I had no idea how to make that happen until I realized that it asks for the message upon wake or sleep that you want to use. One problem that any 3rd party Alarm app is going to have and it's not the developers fault and that is in order for the App to work, it needs to be running. So you need to make sure you launch it before going to sleep. The screen can go off/dim, but if the App is not running it can never wake you. It would be nice as a backup to have Push Alerts in case you forget to launch the App. At least the Push Alert could wake you with a beep instead of the alarm.

Last week I reviewed a similar app called mRelease. The App had all of the promise of allowing a photographer or other artist the ability to create, sign and email Release Forms. As a Photographer I deal with Model Release forms all the time. I have two custom ones that I use personally and a 3rd one that my employer has me use when I do interviews. While I loved the idea of mRelease, the one problem with it is that there was no way to put in your own release/legal copy. While I can probably get by with a generic release most of the time for my personal photography, I can't when it comes to my employer's release. 

Photographers Contract Maker lets you roll your own

A reader of my other review turned me on to this App. It has the one thing that the other App was missing and that is the ability to create CUSTOM RELEASE FORMS. I was able to easy copy and paste each of my release forms into an email message and send them to my iPhone. From there I was able to copy and paste the exact text I needed right into the App creating the 3 separate forms that I needed. I was blown away by the ability to insert "fields" with the text that would automatically pull content from the App such as client name, shoot date, photographer's name, websites, phone numbers, etc. Wow! Just what the doctor ordered. It took me about 15 minutes of tweaking to the get the layouts just the way I wanted them and I had my first test release created. I also love the fact that you can build your client list from your existing contacts on your iPhone/iPod touch. You can even go in on a case by case basis and edit the verbiage. This allows you to customize a release to a specific shoot adding or removing terms. Lastly I was able to sign it and do a test email. It all works!

You can get it here: 

Great, but I want a few more things

While this App is much more useful to me than the one I reviewed last week, there are a couple of things that I would like to see. I loved the fact that mRelease allowed you to include a photo. That was a very nice touch and useful to include things like a photo of their driver's license. I would also like to see a little more text formatting capabilities like "bold text". One of my releases has check boxes to allow the client to choose how they want their retouched photos delivered. So it would be nice to have a couple basic form fields like check boxes and radio buttons. Although the App allows you to sign the form right on your iPhone, there is no "clear" button to start over. You must go back one screen and tap "sign" again. There should either be a clear or a "shake" to clear feature. Lastly the icing on the cake would be allowing for the photographers logo.

Enter or edit your own custom text

If you're going to be a doing a lot of these, you might want to make an investment in a iPhone stylus to make it easier for your clients to sign.

The Bottom Line

Even without adding my requests, this App is a winner! You can't beat the introductory price and it allows me to have the exact release that I'm already used to using! This App is a must have for any photographer or other artist that needs to do release/contract forms!

by Mordy Golding

I do enough traveling to have been named a Road Warrior by American Way Magazine, back in 2006. I'm also Jewish (Orthodox) and eat kosher. Put the two together and the result is me usually trying to figure out where I can grab a bite to eat as I travel the world. There's a great kosher restaurant database that you can find and search through at www.shamash.org, but the folks at Rusty Brick have created an app called Kosher which taps into the power of your iPhone.

The Kosher app is actually linked to the shamash.org database, so the listings are current, and when you launch the Kosher app, it connects to the database to update all listings. In the Kosher app, you can choose to either search for a specific restaurant, or my favorite feature — click the Find Near Me button. After detecting your GPS location, the Kosher app will list any kosher restaurants or food establishments in your vicinity. You'll get exact distances from where you are, basic information such as kosher certification (hashgacha), price, and even rating and comments from other travelers. With a single click you can call the restaurant or get a location and directions with Google maps.

In the past two weeks, Terry White and I have been traveling in Europe and I used this app to find a great kosher restaurant in Munich, Germany, and several great places in Paris, France. In addition, the app also sports a list of kosher certification logos and symbols, and even displays the proper blessings to recite before eating various kinds of foods.

If you do any kind of photography, video or other projects involving actors, models, a crew or location, then chances are you need a release form signed. The problem with paper forms is remembering to bring them with you. It seems I forget all to often. Now I have a model release with me at all times and it's in the device that I always carry. It's in my iPhone. This App is very cool by design. You enter some basic information about the shoot/project, then you enter some info about the model, property, etc. and lastly you can even take or use a photo from your library. Once you've entered this info a release is generated and can be signed right on screen. At this point the signed release will be generated as a PDF that you can email out to all that need it. 

Never forget your model release forms again

I love the idea behind this App. It's brilliant! The thought of whipping up a release form right in the palm of my hand and having the model sign it with their finger sounds soooo 2010 Also being able to add a photo right there on the spot is helpful too. A lot of photographers will use this to take a photo of the model's drivers license as proof of age/identity. 

Get it here: 

Putting in the details including a photo is very easy.

Your subject can sign right there on the spot

Once the release has been created you can email it right from the App. It automatically generates an email with the signed PDF release attached and addressed to you and your subject.

Here's a sample of the release I just created in PDF.

The One Thing that would make this "THE KILLER APP"

As much as I like this App the one thing that is keeping it from being "The App!" (and giving it a 5th star) is that you can't put in your own custom text in the body of the release. The release(s) that's in the App is generic and will cover lots of things. However, I know photographers that have gone through the trouble and expense of having a lawyer write very specific text to cover the kind of shooting they do. They are going to want to and have to use that text and therefore it will prevent many from using this App. Since this App is using about 30% of your own custom fields like the photo, model name, etc. it seems like it seems like it would be very easy to have a "Custom" release text field that the photographer/artist could put in THEIR OWN text. Or better yet, multiple "custom" releases.  I would even settle for a limited number of characters in a dot release. I could probably make my release fit within the one page format. However, again if the developer wants to sell this app to every photographer, videographer, artist, etc. that carries an iPhone/touch/iPad today, then not only should it have multiple savable "Custom" releases, the Custom field can't have any limits on the amount of text even if it has to generate multiple pages. This way, every "photographer/artist" would be able to put in their EXACT release that they're using now. Even I have two different release forms with different language. One is for the times when I'm doing a commercial shot with a paid model. The other one is when I'm doing a TFP (trade for prints) shoot where I have totally different language and terms for image use.

So "being Media Productions" if you're reading this/listening, I can get a lot more people interested in your App in the photography world if you do this ONE THING! It would also make the price a lot easier to justify.

P.S. Icing on the cake would be the ability to also put in my custom logo at the top of the release.

If you're going to be a doing a lot of these, you might want to make an investment in a iPhone stylus to make it easier for your clients to sign.