The iTunes store has a ton of photo-editing apps, and most do a good job of accomplishing basic tasks. Still, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the new Photoshop.com Mobile app (free, iTunes link), hoping it would provide some advanced features these other apps are lacking. After testing the app, I realize now why its name is so telling — this is a mobile version of Photoshop.com (Adobe’s online photo community), not a mobile version of Photoshop. If you download Photoshop.com Mobile expecting to get even a hint of Photoshop’s prowess, you’re going to be disappointed.
Photoshop.com Mobile has all the basics you’d expect in a photo app, including crop, rotate and flip. Color correction controls include exposure, saturation and tint, and there are sketch and soft-focus effects. To control any of the effects, you slide your finger back and forth over the photo to adjust the color or intensity. If you like what you see, tap the green check mark and the changes are applied.
Like a number of other photo apps, Photoshop.com Mobile also includes various photo filters. Some of these filters are better than others — how often are you going to use ‘rainbow,’ for example?
Other filters, like ‘vibrant’ and ‘white glow’ are actually useful and create very nice effects. These filters in particular help improve a standard iPhone snapshot and make it more interesting.
The filters and effects are easy to use, although there is a tiny lag from when you swipe your finger over the picture to when the effect is applied. It’s best to move your finger slowly to give the app time to respond. Landscape mode is also supported, but it is only is useful if your photo also has a horizontal orientation:
The Photoshop.com Mobile app syncs with Photoshop.com, where users can create free accounts to host and share 2GB of photos. While the Photoshop.com community is nicely implemented and easy to use, I prefer to cut out the middleman and send my photos directly to social networking sites like Twitter or Facebook. That is easy to do using Best Camera, one of my favorite new photo apps. If you don’t already have an online site to store your pictures, Photoshop.com is certainly a good bet and it’s free.
Conclusion
While Photoshop.com Mobile is slick and well designed, I have to admit I was a little disappointed in this app. It doesn’t really set itself apart from any of the other thousand photo apps in the iTunes store, and it doesn’t include anywhere near the functionality of regular Photoshop. The folks at Adobe really missed an opportunity to make this a truly mobile Photoshop by adding just a few of Photoshop’s most-used features — clone stamp or healing brush come to mind.
Still, Photoshop.com Mobile is a free app, so it’s hard to knock it too much. If you don’t already have a photo-editing app, this one will accomplish the basics and do it well; we recommend it for those who just want a simple, easy-to-use photo app. However, if you were hoping for advanced tools or a mobile version of Photoshop, this app will certainly leave you wanting more.
