Cinq Photo updated for iPhone and iPad: Send your pix home when mobile

I took a look at Cinq in December. It was a cool little iPhone app that allowed you to view your iPhoto libraries on your iPhone and send photos back to your home computer when you're out over Wi-Fi or 3G. I liked the idea of sending full resolution pictures home while I was on vacation, and the app worked pretty well.

Some recent updates have made Cinq even more attractive. It's now a universal app that runs on the iPad as well as the iPhone and iPod touch. As before, you have to install the free Cinq server software on your home Mac or PC and set up a free account. The GUI of the app has been simplified, and it looks more attractive. Once the server is up and running, you choose to have your photos saved to either your iPhoto library or a folder.

My past critique of the app included speed and a lack of background operation. Those issues have been addressed. You can now send a photo or multiple photos in the background, and the speed of transfer seems to have been improved. Of course the speed of your connection is important, but it's clear from my testing that the app is faster.

Your pictures can also be shared via Facebook and Twitter (with Twitpic). The app now supports Airprint and high resolution transfers. The app is ad supported, but you can remove the ads with a US$2.99 in-app purchase. People who had bought the older versions of Cinq can remove the ads at no charge by simply clicking a button in Cinq Photo. Cinq is a nice solution to viewing photos on your main computer, or getting your photos back to it. I think it's worth a look if you find yourself using your iPhone camera when on the go.