The iPad Mini – Tai Shimizu – Filterstorm – Discusses The Relative Merits For Mobile Photography
Earlier this week we contacted a few mobile photography app developers to ask their opinion regarding the new iPad Mini and whether they feel it will be of benefit to mobile photographers in respect of their apps.
We published Mike Hardaker, developer for 645 PRO thoughts here. Today, we are publishing Tai Shimizu developer of the awesome mobile photography app, Filterstorm. Read his thoughts below…
‘iPad is the new laptop, and mini is the new iPad. I don’t expect many people to own both, as they may a laptop and iPad, but the while iPad’s size is about perfect for using on the couch, mini should prove much better outside the house. This should be especially true in countries like Japan where train commutes are the norm and a mini would be nicer than a phone to catch up on news, read, or play a game. Combine this convenience with a lower price point, and you can see why mini will be a winner, even if it is more expensive than anticipated.
I love editing photos on my iPad. Filterstorm was originally an iPad only app, and the iPad version is still my favorite way to edit photos. Gridditor, too, really shines on iPad, having more thumbnails and larger previews makes a huge difference. Despite this, both apps get more use from me on iPhone for two reasons: I always have it on my person, and the camera is better. In the long term—and this is happening somewhat already—I expect iPads to take over what PCs do for us now, importing, storing, and editing photos taken elsewhere. Will this surpass iPhone usage? I don’t think so, but mini is another step toward this future.
Even though I’ve not touched a mini yet, I’m fairly certain I won’t need to redesign anything due to the smaller form factor. I’ve stuck with Apple’s recommended 44 point minimum size for touch targets, and often use 50 point. Since the 44 point size works fine on iPhone, and a 44 point square box should be identical in size on the iPad mini (it’s larger on the regular iPad), interface elements should be as easy to hit as they are on iPhone. This is a great move on Apple’s part as it means unlike the initial iPad launch, the retina display launch, or iPhone 5 launch, there’s no need to wait for apps to be updated to run optimally. Unless a developer was using unnecessarily small elements, things should just work.
The press has made a lot of fuss over the perceived wrongs of iPad mini. They say it’s too expensive, underpowered, and underwhelming. And it’s easy to see why, Kindle Fire and Nexus 7 are much cheaper for a similarly sized product. Unlike iPad, both of those products are being sold to break even, and neither has the iOS app store. If you look from Apple’s perspective, the $399 iPad 2 is selling well, so a cheaper version of similar hardware should sell without question. Add in the usefulness of the smaller screen and it’s hard to see iPad mini not being a huge hit’.
Joanne Carter
Joanne Carter, creator of the world’s most popular mobile photography and art website— TheAppWhisperer.com— TheAppWhisperer platform has been a pivotal cyberspace for mobile artists of all abilities to learn about, to explore, to celebrate and to share mobile artworks. Joanne’s compassion, inclusivity, and humility are hallmarks in all that she does, and is particularly evident in the platform she has built. In her words, “We all have the potential to remove ourselves from the centre of any circle and to expand a sphere of compassion outward; to include everyone interested in mobile art, ensuring every artist is within reach”, she has said. Promotion of mobile artists and the art form as a primary medium in today’s art world, has become her life’s focus. She has presented lectures bolstering mobile artists and their art from as far away as the Museum of Art in Seoul, South Korea to closer to her home in the UK at Focus on Imaging. Her experience as a jurist for mobile art competitions includes: Portugal, Canada, US, S Korea, UK and Italy. And her travels pioneering the breadth of mobile art includes key events in: Frankfurt, Naples, Amalfi Coast, Paris, Brazil, London. Pioneering the world’s first mobile art online gallery - TheAppWhispererPrintSales.com has extended her reach even further, shipping from London, UK to clients in the US, Europe and The Far East to a global group of collectors looking for exclusive art to hang in their homes and offices. The online gallery specialises in prints for discerning collectors of unique, previously unseen signed limited edition art. Her journey towards becoming The App Whisperer, includes (but is not limited to) working for a paparazzi photo agency for several years and as a deputy editor for a photo print magazine. Her own freelance photographic journalistic work is also widely acclaimed. She has been published extensively both within the UK and the US in national and international titles. These include The Times, The Sunday Times, The Guardian, Popular Photography & Imaging, dpreview, NikonPro, Which? and more recently with the BBC as a Contributor, Columnist at Vogue Italia and Contributing Editor at LensCulture. Her professional photography has also been widely exhibited throughout Europe, including Italy, Portugal and the UK. She is currently writing several books, all related to mobile art and is always open to requests for new commissions for either writing or photography projects or a combination of both. Please contact her at: [email protected]
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