SplashPhoto is an application that helps manage photos both on your Treo and your desktop. Available for both Palm OS and PocketPC, SplashPhoto is a great option for organizing your Treo photos.
Introduction
If youre the type of Treo user who loves using the built-in camera, you
have no doubt run into the headache of trying to organize and edit all your
photos. SplashPhoto by SplashData offers a convenient way to organize,
synchronize, edit, view, and share photos. When paired up with the desktop
(PC) software, it really doesnt get much easier to keep your growing gallery
in check.
User Interface
When you first open up SplashPhoto, youll notice familiar options at the
top to organize the photos by location on your device (i.e. internal or
storage card) and by category. The action keys on the Treo 700w will allow you to
quickly toggle views and pull up the ‘Tools’ menu. While using SplashPhoto,
you have 4 main views you can choose from:
- List View: Lists the files in order (much like Windows) and displays the
file information you choose. This view makes maximum use of the screen space,
but doesnt show a preview of the photo. - Detail View: Displays a thumbnail of the photo, allows you to change the
storage and category, shows the image size, file size, date, photo notes, and
time the photo was taken. This view is very handy if you need to move files
back and forth between a storage card, and if youre looking to categorize a
couple of photos. - Thumbnail View: Displays a thumbnail of the photo and the file name. This
view makes very good use of screen space while still displaying a thumbnail. - Gallery View: Displays only a thumbnail of the photo. This view is handy
if youve got a lot of photos and are looking for a particular one.
The ‘Tools’ menu allows you to set the program as the default viewer for JPG
photos, show specific columns in the list view, arrange the photo list, display
a slideshow, manage categories, set photo security, refresh the view, and exit
the program.
Features & Options
Perhaps the most convenient feature of the program is the ability to quickly
and easily categorize your photos. SplashPhoto lets you create customized
categories, and quickly assign photos to a given category. Along with
categorizing the photo, you can add notes to your photo that will display in the
“Detail View”. This is definitely convenient when you need to make a specific
photo easy to find, or if you just need a quick reminder where the photo was
taken.
The most intriguing feature of the categories is the ability to set a photo
as private, which will require a password before being able to view them. This
feature can be helpful if youre taking photos that you dont want someone who
picks up or steals your phone to be able to see such as company prototypes.
You can quickly toggle the ability to view private images by going to Tools
>> Security >> Show/Hide Private Images. If you choose to show
them, youll be greeted with a password prompt. Unfortunately, if you were to
go into the default Camera application, you could view these photos without a
password being required thus making this security only effective within the
program itself.
Much like the default Camera application, SplashPhoto allows you to send
photos via email, MMS, or beaming. The only addition wed like to see here
would be the ability to highlight multiple photos and send them all via email,
MMS, or beaming.
Along with the device version of SplashPhoto, you also get the SplashPhoto
Desktop which installs on your PC (see notes for compatibility information) and
allows you to easily synchronize between your device and desktop. This feature
is much more convenient than synching photos using ActiveSync, and it allows
you to keep your photos separate from the rest of your data.
Just like the application for your device, the desktop version gives you the
option of viewing your photos with the same four views. It also adds the
functionality of being able to quick edits including: brightness and contrast
adjustments, zooming, cropping, and image rotating.
Another welcome addition to the SplashPhoto Desktop software is the ability
to quickly and easily send any of your photos via email. Simply highlight the
photos youd like to send, right-click and choose the “Send via Email” option.
Issues and Notes
During testing, I did not encounter any issues with the installation
process, registration, or with the program hanging. The memory footprint of
the program is quite small and unobtrusive.
SplashPhoto Desktop requires Windows 98, ME, NT4, 2000, or XP.
Conclusion
SplashPhoto is a great tool to help you keep your ever-growing photo gallery
organized and synchronized. The ability to categorize photos has proven to be
a priceless feature, and is certainly a welcome improvement over the default
Camera application.
SplashPhoto retails for $29.95 and is also available as a 30-day free trial.
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