I was impressed with the level of detail and sophistication that the first version of iPhoto for iOS demonstrates. Aside from being drop-dead gorgeous with swift animated operation, it's not just another pretty face. It's deep, complete, has a huge number of functions, and is easy to use. Admittedly, because of the smaller screen, it's more awkward to use the app on the iPhone, and Apple has tried to accommodate the small screen issues. But in the end it comes down to whether the company wanted a universal app or not. Clearly, it did, and it decided to have the same level of capability in both.

Don't expect iPhoto for iOS to do everything that Photoshop or Aperture can do, but it does do a surprising number of things extremely well. Regardless of how many photo apps you now have running on your iPad, I recommend giving Apple's new product a try. You won't regret spending that latte money on the app. And I anticipate that most people will wind up turning to iPhoto for iOS as their default mobile photo editor, perhaps using other apps to fill in special effects here and there.

[Jackie Dove is a Macworld senior editor.]