For the second edition of my new Drop Everything series I wanted a nice range of apps. This time I have a great photography app, easier ways to communicate with friends, coworkers, and even businesses, and a fun app that anyone can use to make music or just have fun. Note: all iTunes links on this site are affiliate links, but no apps or links are paid placement. An easy way to support my work here and win a special place in my heart is to click these links and buy anything in the store within 24 hours.
ProCamera
I’m getting into mobile photography in a big way and I’ve been searching for a number of different utilities, from time lapse to post production. I also sometimes miss the control of my Sony CSC (Compact System Camera), so I’m happy I found ProCamera 8. Sure, it has filters and some unique HDR options, but you can drill all the way down into controlling shutter speed and ISO. ProCamera has a live histogram, white balance control, a tiltmeter to keep your shots level, and more. You can also enable a lightbox if you want to prevent your photography and experiments from cluttering up your main Photos app.
Path Talk
Path Talk is the dedicated messaging app of Path, where I like to spend more of my personal social time these days. It’s a good messenger, and it can share really useful things other messaging apps don’t, like specific locations and businesses, and media from iTunes Store (or Google Play, or Windows Store for users on those platforms).
Recently, Path Talk gained a feature called Places, so you can text businesses with questions and even orders and reservations. It works with virtually any business and recently expanded to the UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. I use Path Talk Places a lot in Chicago to ask questions about stock, which product I need before heading to a store, or even to place orders for food at restaurants and group coffee orders at coffee shops. It’s fantastic and free, though if you upgrade to the optional Path Premium, one of the perks is faster response times in Places.
Dispatch
If you handle some of your email by turning it into other things—archiving some things in Evernote, turning some messages into tasks in Things or events in Fantastical—Dispatch is a dream come true. Plus, you don’t need to trust some random startup with your email passwords and fork over all messages. It also does lots of smart things, like making both archive and delete easily accessible with a swipe. Dispatch is just a great, smart email app that integrates a bunch of other third-party apps, so you can get things done with the tools you care about.
Keezy
Soundboards can be an easy way to have a little fun, or a foot in the door to making some real music. Keezy is the latest from the shop that also made Keezy Drummer, a slick, simple drum machine with a fun, minimal design. It’s free and you can record your own sounds, but it also comes with a bunch of built-in boards from some big names, including Reggie Watts and Tegan and Sara (all free). Just long-press on the center black dot, pick a board, and start tapping.
