App that shares photos between iPhone and PC?

[alamarco]

Is there an app which allows the sharing of photos between a PC and an iPhone/iPad?

The only features I require are:
- Access photos on my PC on my iPhone/iPad
- Save photos to the Camera Roll (i.e. if I see a photo I like I can save it and use it)

I've tried ImageBank, which is a decent app, but the server is coded in Java and initial RAM usage is 400 MB and that only grows larger with server uptime. Considering apps like AirVideo use 24 MB of RAM, ImageBank is ridiculous.

I've just tried StreamToMe, and while it can stream photos it can't save them. It also can't even pinch zoom so you can't even manipulate large photos. The photo support in StreamToMe is not good at all.

Are there any alternative apps? Any alternative solutions? I could always setup an FTP, but I'd prefer an app as it'd not only be simpler, but it would have thumbnails of images. An FTP is really not a good choice without thumbnails.

 

[MuddyPaws]

You mean transfer photos from the pc to the iPhone?

 

[alamarco]

Essentially that's one feature. Basically the app streams photos via a PC server (like Air Video does with video), but also have the ability to save a photo you're viewing to the Camera Roll (like you can with most photo apps like Flickr).

So you have access to all your photos on the go with the ability to save them.

 

[RoofMonkey]

Drop Box account maybe?

 

[Bope]

You can try PhotoSync

 

[MuddyPaws]

I use PhotoSync but you have to have both devices in front of you for it to work. Sounds like he wants to be able to view pics on his PC from a mobile location. Maybe go to my pc or something like that?

 

[alamarco]

Thanks for the suggestions.

I have DropBox, but it doesn't offer enough space. The main goal for me is to have access to all my photos because they wouldn't fit on an iPad. Currently I have just over 50 GB which grows daily so DropBox would cost $20 a month. I don't mind paying as I've already bought $10+ worth of apps trying to find a solution for this, but $20 a month adds up, fast.

PhotoSync sounds good, but like MuddyPaws mentioned you have to be using both devices at the same time. It would be a good alternative if you could be sitting on your couch and have access to the photos, but from what I've seen in order to get the photos on your iPhone or iPad you have to be on your PC and transfer them from your PC.

Go To My PC, VNC, Remote Desktop, etc. wouldn't work either. Those applications would only allow viewing and not transferring to either the iPhone or iPad.

Am I being too picky? I'm starting to believe there's nothing out there.

 

[MuddyPaws]

Oh hey, get a paid photobucket or flickr account. 25 bucks for the entire year with unlimited storage and bandwidth. There are apps for both.

 

[RoofMonkey]

LogmeIn ignition allows transfers. It's not the cheapest, i think its something like $29 but does do the job quite well for remote access with file transfers.
Edit: $29.99 from the app store.

 

[alamarco]

I have a Flickr Pro account already, so that could be an option. I'd likely purchase another account for this specifically so as to not pollute my original account.

LogMeIn seems interesting. I think a friend uses it so I'll check with him. With no demo app I'd like to see that saving in action before committing. Sounds highly promising.

 

[alamarco]

Just an update.

I decided to just go with ImageBank for now and see how my system reacts to the high memory usage. It starts off at ~400 MB of RAM usage and after a few days of uptime it seems to have settled around ~600 MB of RAM usage. For people with not a lot of RAM this app may not be that usable.

One thing I'd like to note, for those interested, I discovered that ImageBank does not transfer the photo in its original size. I had a photo which was 3120 x 4650 in size and when transferred to my iPad it was 687 x 1024 in size. This kind of defeats the purpose of the app.

I emailed the developer so hopefully he'll respond and will be able to do something about this. One thing I'm not sure of is if this is a limitation made by Apple or just the app. I'm hoping it's the app so that it can be corrected.

 

[alamarco]

Just thought I'd do another update for those interested. The developer for ImageBank just put out an update the other day to allow full image downloading. You can now save images to the Camera Roll without them being resized. ImageBank is now one of my top apps as it now truly allows you to bring your photo collection anywhere you go without losing any bit of quality.

[iTunes] http://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/imagebank/id382641857?mt=8
[Website] http://imagebank4ios.weebly.com/