Foteo review

We review Foteo, an iPhone app that compiles your photos into attractive slideshows

More often than not we find ourselves looking at apps that don't immediately broadcast their finer functions or, indeed, necessarily make it obvious from the outset what their real purpose is. This isn't always a bad thing, from a reviewer's standpoint, as it's nice to be surprised and captivated when you weren't expecting it. But it can't be a good thing from a sales perspective.

Foteo isn't one of those apps. Its purpose is crystal clear from the outset, and it wears its purpose and functions proudly on its sleeve. What it really needs, however, is more of both. This app works very hard at what it does, but it'd be nice to see it make a little more effort in other areas.

Its main function is to marshal your iPhone's photos into a slightly more interesting package, by way of a video slideshow. Actually, make that 'a considerably more interesting package,' as Foteo creates superb miniature showcases from your Camera Roll.

Each 'Foteo' - which is what the app calls your slideshow projects - is put together step-by-step, with the first task being to choose a theme. There are 11 themes bundled into the app, which determine the kind of animated backdrop your slideshow will be set against, and its choice of style, fonts and so forth.

After the theme has been set, you select up to 10 photos or images from your iPhone's Camera Roll. This is a beautifully simple interface, with single taps of great-looking thumbnails taking care of the selection process. Choosing a musical accompaniment to the slideshow from your iTunes library is the last job, before Foteo sets about the processor-heavy task of rendering the video.

Admittedly this step does take a while, about five minutes or so, but it's a mighty task that's being performed, and the app does it with the absolute minimal input or effort on your part. So sitting and waiting while it churns away at the code is very forgivable, and the slideshow is ultimately stored in your Camera Roll along with the originals.

While the app's blurb talks about sharing your slideshows on YouTube, Facebook, by email or by any other socially-friendly method, it doesn't actually tackle these jobs itself. It's here where the app's shortcomings are felt, and although there are lots of ways to share content from your iPhone using its native apps - or any other apps you probably already have installed - Foteo considers its side of the bargain fulfilled as soon as the slideshow has been exported to the Camera Roll.

It would be far more preferable to see the app lend a helping hand with the sharing methods, rather than folding its arms and waiting for the next batch of processing to begin. A bit more customisation in terms of editing the 'obviously very short' music snippets would also be welcome, as would an option to change the length a photo is shown in the slideshow, or the overall length of the video. As it is, the app makes most of the decisions for you.

If it weren't for the undeniably outstanding results Foteo produces, this app would be very easy to dismiss. As it is, there's a distinct feeling that it's incomplete, and the superb slideshows makes it hard to forgive the app for not seeing your projects through to the end.

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