First Look: Snapture comes to the App Store

If you were one of the brave few to begin jailbreaking your iPhones back in early 2008, you probably came across what I considered the best app available at that point: Snapture. I always wanted to get more out of my iPhone camera and this jailbreak app helped me accomplish that.

Fast forward a year and a half and you'll finally find Snapture [iTunes Link] in Apple's App Store. This is primarily due to the fact that Apple has opened up more and more of the iPhone OS with each new release of the SDK. Is it perfect? No, but with the given access to the Camera APIs, applications like Snapture and Best Camera can finally exist in a world of harmony with the big wigs at Apple.

In regards to functionality, I've always been a huge fan of Snapture. It's simple, but it works. I don't have to touch a button on the screen to take a picture, I can tap the screen anywhere I'd like and it will work just fine. My biggest pet peeve about the built-in camera app is that I have to press a tiny button in order to take a picture. That's not very conducive for self portraits or any other situation where you're not looking right at the device.

The typical reverse pinch to zoom works here as well, giving you up to 5x digital zoom. There's also a stack of thumbnails at the bottom right of the application that shows you the last four images you've taken. You can review, delete or even email them with just a swipe of the finger. If you're like me and end up skewing a picture by tapping the screen, you can set up Snapzones to allow the removal of your finger to trigger the camera. Last but not least, Snapture comes with a virtual level that will help you keep your iPhone straight for the most crucial of pictures.

In my opinion, this app is what makes the iPhone into a great point-and-shoot camera. Other apps just help improve the cell phone camera experience, but this make it as easy as pulling out my Canon and tapping the button -- all from my phone. It's in the App Store right now for $1.99 but will go up to $7.99 after the introductory period is over. So go save some dough and take a picture of the money you have left.

Psssst...there's more coming soon. I don't have specific details, but I've been told by the development team that they're going to "revolutionize how people take pictures with the iPhone camera in future releases." You may remember that SnaptureLabs was responsible for the first flash attachment on the iPhone -- could it have something to do with that? Now that Apple allows hardware accessories, I could see that as a viable add-on. Only time will tell.

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