

"Batch" May Be The Perfect Mobile Photo Sharing App (No, Seriously) - irunbackwards
http://uncrunched.com/2011/10/27/batch-may-be-the-perfect-mobile-photo-sharing-app-no-seriously/

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adriand
This is a very nice app. It's worth downloading and trying just to see the job
they've done with the interface. It has a super-polished, slick feel; the
prompts and help messages are very casual and conversational; and it guides
you through the process in a very nice way. Within moments I'd uploaded a pile
of photos, tagged the people in them on FB, and had someone commenting on
them.

The only thing I don't love is that the photos end up on batch.com. I guess
they have to have a website somewhere, otherwise, what's the point? But I
worry about storing my photos on yet another website. I remember when I
created all kinds of albums on Sam Odio's startup, Divvyshot, including ones
of the birth of my daughter, and garnered all kinds of memorable comments as a
result.

Then one day, it was purchased by Facebook and _poof_ , goodbye photo albums,
goodbye comments from friends and family.

That said, the sheer convenience of this app might overcome my worries...

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ahlatimer
While it doesn't help you save your albums or comments, all of your photos are
still stored on your camera roll, so you won't lose those if Batch wound up
taking a path like Divvyshot (not to imply that that is the path we plan on
taking, etc., etc.).

Disclaimer: I work for Batch/Dailybooth.

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adriand
True, but the same applied to Divvyshot - I still had those photos on my hard
drive. In any case, you guys have done a super job and I'm going to just trust
you that you're not in for the short haul. ;)

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novum
The app looks incredible, but you can't get past the splash screen without one
of those bookfaces. This is the first time I've been completely locked out of
an iOS app I wanted to use for not being on FB.

One wonders why they feature a twitter button in their screenshots and not
offer twitter login?

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Terretta
> "This is the first time I've been completely locked out of an iOS app I
> wanted to use for not being on FB."

Didn't this used to be against app store guidelines?

Also, with the granular permissions of FB, if tying it to FB, why not host the
photos on FB?

~~~
ahlatimer
Because Batch would then be permanently attached to FB and would _always_
require FB login. There may be a point in the future where Batch allows other
logins.

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mronge
I would love to try it but it requires Facebook.

~~~
jeiting
The app sort of pointless without the ability to jack into your social graph.
Forcing everyone through Facebook is the fastest way to get this data into the
app, for the user and the developer.

~~~
angryasian
9 out of 10 times the data you think the developer needs for the app is
probably unnecessary for the app.

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shawnwall
another facebook-only login... seriously guys, enough of this.

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zitterbewegung
It would be nice except google plus already auto uploads? But, it only dumps
them into one album. This would still be good for Facebook users though...

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ahlatimer
Isn't the G+ auto-upload thing only available on Android?

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sunkan
Love it. We worked on Hipster's iOS App (Also did some work for Path too) and
was wondering how yet another photo sharing app could survive. For me, the
killer feature is being able to batch upload the pictures. Love the intuitive
UI.

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oldstrangers
The reason I haven't uploaded the majority of those photos... is because I
don't want them online. If I want to mass edit/transfer in bulk, I'll plug my
phone in and transfer them to my computer.

~~~
britta
I'm like that too, but the occasional transferring does require a lot of
steps: I (1) dig out my phone cable, (2) plug it in, (3) wait for my phone to
sync while waiting for iPhoto to launch, (4) wait for the photos to import,
(5) export the photos, (6) open Facebook and find the spot for uploading an
album, (7) wait for Facebook's latest iteration of their bulk-uploading widget
to load, (8) and then upload the photos. (I know I could theoretically use
wireless sync and iCloud to cut a couple steps, but user inertia is a powerful
force.)

I don't mind my process because I want my photos backed up in iPhoto anyway,
and I find it useful to rearrange the photos once they're on Facebook, etc.,
but I can see Batch being pleasant for other people who upload lots of event
photos and would prefer a simpler process.

~~~
Terretta
> _I'm like that too, but the occasional transferring does require a lot of
> steps: I (1) dig out my phone cable, (2) plug it in, (3) wait for my phone
> to sync while waiting for iPhoto to launch, (4) wait for the photos to
> import_

None of this is true any more with Photostream.

While in Corsica last week, photos shot with my iPhone showed up on my iPad,
simply by having logged into hotel WiFi. Upon return to the US, I found them
also already available to iPhoto and Aperture.

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blakehill
You have to give credit where credit is due. This app is extremely well done.
Looks like they have some kinks to work out, but I expect it to be great. And
very useful.

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apricot13
I swear thats exactly what the first posterous app did?!

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kevinherron
I have no interest in actually using this, but WOW is it a beautifully done
app. I'm extremely envious.

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uptown
Why do they need to know my location to load my photos?

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maguay
That's standard in iOS apps...

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uptown
Is it something developers choose to request because they can, or is it
because the previously saved photos may already have geocoded data in them, so
the app requires that permission to access the files already stored on the
device?

~~~
Xuzz
The latter. I actually really want Apple to provide an option to request
access to the photos without location, and remove the location data when
reading in the photo metadata. But they don't — yet, at least.

(Disclaimer: I worked on Batch as an intern this summer, but I don't speak for
them.)

