Here’s how it works: You take one iOS device and set it up as the “host” device. Connect it via AirPlay to the device of your choosing (in my case, the Apple TV hooked to my television). Then encourage others to download the free app, and use that to take photos. Once someone gets a shot they like, there’s a “send” that shoots it over to the host device.
Here's how it looks when you send an image in PartySnapper.
Once it is sent to the host, it drops into rotation as part of the slide show happening on the big screen. I took a couple of photos of the slideshow as it scrolled by on my television to show you how it looks:
What can I say? Parties at my house get a little rowdy.
Here’s the best bit: All those photos? Copies are stashed on the host device, so at the end of the event the host has all the photos. If you’ve ever been to a family gathering where everyone is snapping photos in various ways, you know sharing those images can be a nightmare. And for those shooting the photos, all those images are saved to the camera roll before sending so each person has all their own photos too.
To get to be a host is free but limited you to ten photos. To really rock that slideshow, you need to purchase the hosting package that works for you: A week for USD$4.99, a month (30 days) for 9.99, and forever for $14.99.
It was a snap to use, and I thought about how easy it would be to explain this app to people at a party, and it is pretty straightforward: It looks like the camera but has less options than the iOS camera so there’s no accidental effects or switching to video. Once I hit “send” it was pretty perky, and I didn’t have to wait for the picture to send before taking another.
Right now the app is only for iOS and AirPlay devices, so if your party is mixed platform (not that there’s anything wrong with that) your non-iOS-using guests will be left out. Otherwise the app makes it easy to take photos, and it’s free and small so installing it is easy even if people don’t do it until they arrive. Also keep in mind that the screen doesn’t sleep on the hosting device, so for a party you might want to put it on to charge.
This is a fun app to use, free for guests, and gives you a copy of all the photos that went by during the event. Whether it’s a family gathering or a regular group that meets up with a projector (user groups/tech meetups come to mind), this is an app I’d highly recommend for capturing and sharing those moments.