I very rarely review a single mobile app these days – we prefer to do mobile app round-ups here on ReadWriteWeb – but I’m going to make an exception this time for Photogram. This new iPhone application, launched just yesterday, is deserving of a mention, if only for catching my attention among a sea of mobile photo app startups.
From the description, the app seems somewhat basic, maybe even a little boring: share photos via Facebook, Twitter or email. But it does so with a simplicity, elegance and ease that I’ve often found lacking elsewhere.
Above: Sample Photogram
Even though there are social networking sharing mechanisms built in to give the app a more universal appeal, the app’s target demographic is, to be sure, parents. Like me. And especially parents who need to share iPhone photos with their kids’ grandparents, and everyone else who “doesn’t have a Facebook yet.” (Yes, despite Facebook’s some 500+ million users, there are still so many who still prefer email for photo-sharing. I know, shocking.)
While the iPhone’s photo gallery app makes emailing photos easy enough, the end result is just a plain email. Photogram, instead, lets you dress things up a bit with a selection of artistic themes to showcase your photos, some of which are free and some that are paid. There are “baby” and family-oriented themes, party themes, minimalist themes, outdoor themes, and many others.
But the real killer feature is the ability to create recipient groups so you can share with the same folks (e.g. “grandparents,” “friends,” etc.) over and over again, without having to address the emails by hand. Facebook and Twitter can be combined with email recipient groups too, so you can send our your photos everywhere in just one step. Genius.
An App for Everyone
While none of these things are new innovations, necessarily, it’s the way they’re put together that makes the app so great. There aren’t those trendy photo filters to mess with like in Instagram and its clones, you don’t have to create a “profile,” add friends or find others to follow – you just pick a few photos (4 max.), add a message and share. So easy, anyone can use it. And that’s the point.
Sometimes, simply making a task easier, quicker and more fun is all it takes to win me over. Now, Photogram, won’t you please come to Android?
Below: Photogram of the most adorable child in the world: mine.
