National Geographic have produced one of the finest iPad apps on offer with an illuminating look at their picks for the world’s greatest photographs.
By Leo Stiles
Chances are that if you own an iPad you will have to deal with someone who mocks the tablet for being an oversized iPod. Traditionally, this will lead to all sorts of claims, as you try to convey the user experience and traditionally, you tend to fall short because most of the time you have to use the tablet to appreciate it.
If you find yourself in this situation again, we suggest that you fire up the 50 Greatest Photographs app from the excellent folks at the National Geographic Society and let the iPad do the talking. This app is not only a testament to the stunning photo record of the famous periodical; it is also a definitive example of how the iPad can do things in ways other computers and devices can only dream of.
The app is a model of navigational finesse and when you fire it up, you are treated to all 50 photographs in a tile-based array. Clicking on any tile brings you directly to a full frame HD rendition of the picture, which is exquisite in detail and clarity and reminds you just how good the iPad screen can be for images.
€3.99 for these bad boys in sparkling HD? Sold
The images contained in the app are so good that they would almost be worth the €3.99 asking price alone but there is far more to the app than just showcasing famous photographs.
Swiping down accesses pages of information about the image, including an interactive map and interviews with the photographer that took the image, which helps give an extra dimension to the photo itself. More than a couple of times, we found ourselves firing up Safari to find out more about a topic associated with the photo.
Some images have a third section which take the form of videos and comparison shots taken months and in some cases years later. These extras are excellent but for our money, the highlight has to be the ‘Near Frames’ feature, which is a series of frames that include the main photograph in the original sequence in which they were taken and highlight just how serendipitous some of these shots are.
Navigating around the sections of the app is pretty straightforward but you can reorient yourself by tapping the screen, where you can navigate the app through a geographic option or through a filmstrip-style option that lets you see how many sections each photograph has.
A nice touch is the ability to share the photographs through Facebook and email and although each photo comes with advertising blurb for the app, it still makes for a better update than whatever you had for breakfast in the morning.
Ordering prints online
Finally, you can also order a print of any of the 50 photographs in the app and all purchases can be done in-app. Prices range from $30 for a 10-inch print and go up from there to $275 for a 30-inch gallery print with mahogany frame. All prices on the app were quoted in US Dollars but we confirmed that they do ship to Ireland, which will incur an additional shipping charge so have those currency converters at the ready.
As a package, this app is hard to fault and you get more content for the price than a regular issue of National Geographic, though if we had to pick one flaw it would be the lack of an option to zoom in on the images and pick out the finer details.
That said, it is hard to think of an iPad app in recent times that takes advantage of the tablet’s unique abilities in such a comprehensive way and for this reason alone, 50 Greatest Photographs is going on our provisional list for the top 10 apps of the year.
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