I confess. I don’t have an iPhone. That makes me a complete noob when it comes to taking photos with one and using the various apps. What I have and love to bits is the iPod Touch. It’s my go-to gear for listening to music, watching videos on the move, and playing games while waiting in line to be served. I can now add image editing to what I use it for. Specifically, editing images taken using my cell phone. To do that right now, I’ve to go the roundabout way, since there’s no camera on the Touch (soon to be changed if rumours of the coming update of the Touch is to be believed).

So, here’s what I do. Firstly I get the images from the Nokia 5800 to my Mac’s iPhoto via Bluetooth. Since I sync the Touch to the Mac once every 2 days, the images gets transferred to the iPod album. I then fire up the iPhone app on the Touch, called Camera+ (USD1.99, introductory price) for post-processing. Camera+ is an amazing app as it allows you basically edit (exposure correction, cropping to various aspect ratios, built-in shooting) add cool filters, effects and borders before opting to upload to popular social media sites. Certainly tedious but it’s fun and encourages one to keep shooting without carrying even a P&S camera. It also produces arty looking shots. Until and if I get an iPhone, this is an excellent option for me. The shots you see in this post were shot using the Canon S3 and 5D and already resident on my iPod. So I’m using them as the first set of test shots, to experiment with Camera+.

For about RM7, you have in your hands a powerful editing platform. If you own an iPhone, not only will you bypass the tedious process but  you’ll also unlock the shooting options of the app. Yup, you can use the app to take photos, enable the grid view which aids composition and there’s even a stabilizer function to cut down on camera shake. I now understand why the iPhone is so popular among photo enthusiasts – there are loads of very affordable apps, great integration with the computer and stands as a powerful shooting, editing and posting platform. If you’re already an iPhone user, or just simply interested in seeing what Camera+ can do, go to the application website here or Lisa Bettany’s site, Mostly Lisa, to see for yourself the app in action.

If you don’t want to part with RM7, there’s the Photoshop Mobile version which is less powerful. Photoshop Mobile is free and you can’t get cheaper than that. Besides it works on the Android smartphones too. A little bit more expensive is Chase Jarvis’ Best Camera iPhone app which is totally cool. Another happening app is the TiltShift which simulates a selective focus lens. It’s also a very affordable app and I consider it an essential if you have an iPhone. For USD0.99 there’s the FX Photo Studio for you to play around with. Do not discount the USD0.99 Perfect Photo app where you can control the Hue, Saturation, Contrast, Shadow, Highlights and Noise Reduction of your shots. If you’re curious, ZD Net has a list of Top 10 iPhone camera apps on their site.

Here’s what I think and I don’t want to get into the iOS vs Android debate here. Anything that puts me in the position to shoot often, shoot everyday without the form factor, edit and share all within the same device is an awesome proposition.The apps are very very affordable. You don’t have to download your photos to your computer to enjoy them. Even if I need to sync up with the computer, I can do so without 3rd party apps to convert or act as a bridge between my Mac and the phone. It’s game changing and with an increased opportunity to shoot, one can only develop his vision and composition. To me, the iPhone is the perfect all-in-one platform for the creative person.

The Android platform is something of a rapidly growing giant just waiting to pounce on the nervous iOS. It is still raw and is not quite there yet. The apps are still relatively limited and more expensive than those in the iTunes Store. Interface and usability wise, it’s a mixture of power and mystery. Mystery because it’s not as intuitive as the iOS. But the power part of things is very intriguing. There’s a learning curve to it. The HTC’s user manual is 400 pages, while a kid can instinctively use any iDevice without coaching. I’ve seen this with my own kids. They just know how to use the iPod. For non-Apple users, here’s a tidbit. The Big A prides itself by not having to include a manual. That’s saying a lot.

Hardware wise, the Android machines have a lot going for them too, being much cheaper than the iPhone. Build-wise is not too shabby either. There’s not much to say about the iPhone prior to the Death Grip and antenna debacle. In my opinion, it’s reputation have now somewhat been tainted but I’d like to think that it’s something the company has to remedy or consumers have to accept and workaround with.

I’m a latecomer to the smartphone arena. I’ve not been able to justify one. At the price the iPhone 4 is expected to be selling  for, I’ll have to think of it as beyond a phone. It’s a HD video cam, a reasonably good compact camera, an multimedia editing platform, a voice recorder, scheduler, multimedia player, podcast aggregator, GPS, social media tool, gaming machine. Yes somewhere in there is a phone too! Having said that, my mind is pretty open. Other than the interface and integration to my imaging and computing workflow (which is a top consideration for me), I’ve been impressed with the Android OS and devices. One day, deciding to go with it will be a no-brainer. Since I’m not buying either now, my eyes are peeled for developments in the next 3 to 5 months!