News on the iPhone front

If you've plugged your iPhone into your computer recently, you've likely been prompted to upgrade your software to version 4.0 (it's actually a software and firmware update, so it isn't a fast process). While I constantly take photos with my iPhone, I have unbelievably not downloaded any of them onto my hard drive in almost a month. Wanting to rectify that, I hooked up my iPhone (3GS) this afternoon and was met with the upgrade option. And so, I upgraded.

Yowzers! It's like a full makeover. I can now set one photo to be the wallpaper when I turn the phone on, and a different image can be the wallpaper behind all the app icons. You can now make folders too, keeping all your puzzle games together, for example. I imagine that feature will be quite a space-saver. And the coolest thing I've discovered? My camera now has a 5x digital zoom! I took the picture of Tippi using the zoom feature this afternoon, then opened up the image in Photoshop's Camera Raw interface (just following my Digital Magic class instructions!) to fix it up a touch.

One odd thing did happen to my computer during the upgrade, but for the life of me I cannot fathom why it happened. All my Favorites in Internet Explorer defaulted to alphabetical order. Drove me crazy, having to rearrange them to return to my preferred order. Why my iPhone software/firmware upgrade, done through iTunes, would affect Internet Explorer is a puzzle.

All the images below have been taken since I returned from Art and Soul and are untouched out of my iPhone, except for adding the watermark. Every image below was shot using the Hipstamatic app, with the exception of the crayons, which was shot with the ShakeItPhoto app.

If you upgrade to 4.0, please let me know what new features you find!

(Montana's Cookhouse restaurant; my garden; paint splatter on the sidewalk; Nancy's car)

iPhone news

We interrupt this ongoing Chicago travelogue for some breaking news: I have discovered a new iPhone app! (Oh dear. I can hear a collective groan. Would it help if I told you it's only 99 cents?)

I was having a look through the numerous Flickr groups to which I belong earlier today when I spied some photos that I thought were taken with an iPhone. I wasn't sure because the effect wasn't familiar. Turns out the photographer was using an iPhone; he'd made his photos look shabby and worn using an app called Pic Grunger. Of course, I had to have it!

It's very easy to use -- you just open up an existing photo in your Camera Roll, then choose from several grungy effects. Simple as that. (Should you choose to get this app and have a 3GS iPhone, like me, make sure you go into your Settings, scroll down to find the listing for Pic Grunger, and tell it you have the 3GS; this apparently ensures you get the proper resolution.)

Both photos above were ones I had taken using the Hipstamatic app. The captain and I were out for dinner with our son's girlfriend the other day and she and I thoroughly appreciated the crayons on the table; photographs were taken (are you surprised?). I think every restaurant should provide crayons!

The crayon image was created in Pic Grunger using its "acid" effect, while the wish image features "cracked".

This photo was taken using the ShakeitPhoto app, while I waited in the car as the captain ran some errands. I love taking photos wherever I am. Tonight, I brought the image into Pic Grunger and chose "streaked". I don't use ShakeitPhoto often, likely because I tend to immediately tap on the Hipstamatic app when I reach for my iPhone. Shakeit is fun; you get to shake your iPhone as you "process" the photo!

Lastly, this photo was taken as we were driving around, using the Toy Camera app (set on random). I then launched the CameraBag app and applied the Lolo effect. Then, tonight, I brought that into Pic Grunger and chose "blotched".

One photo -- three apps! Using multiple apps on one image is fairly new to me, but I think I'm going to be doing it with great frequency. I really like the results.