Digital photography editing, until very recently, has been a task best suited for desktop and laptop computers, but the Adobe proved that it could be done in the mobile space with Photoshop Express, a free photo editing application for Android and iOS devices. The latest version, 2.0, builds upon the foundation of the original release by adding noise reduction (for eliminating grains and specs), a self-timer, and auto-review (for quickly previewing snaps), but these are available for use upon purchase of the $3.99 Adobe Camera Pack. All in all, Adobe Photoshop Express is a solid tool for making light photo edits on your iPad or iPad 2 (starting at $499, 4.5 stars), but it lacks some of the features you'd expect from the manufacturer of Photoshop CS5 (starting at $699, 5 stars).

Interface and Ease of Use
You're presented with an attractive black-and-blue interface (highlighted by white and purple streaks) upon launching Photoshop Express. A gear icon in the interface's upper-right corner lets you tinker with settings, and sign into Photoshop Express with your Adobe ID or Facebook credentials. The bottom of the screen has three icons—Online, Edit, Share—that let you view photos and video stored in your online Adobe account, select a photo for editing, or select a photo for sharing.

Tapping the Edit icon causes the large "Select Photo" icon to appear in the screen's center lets you select a photo from the iPad's library. Once the photo was loaded, Photoshop Express presented new options. Icons positioned in the lower-left portion of the screen let me crop, rotate, and flip the image using swipes and gestures. I also applied borders, tint, contrast, and other visual effects. Making the edits was both easy and intuitive—I can imagine my technologically-challenged mother using it to tweak photos. An undo button lets you remove the last change you've made. You can also upload photos to your Adobe Photoshop Express library or share to Facebook.

The simplicity brings some drawbacks. You can't copy and paste images, or adjust the color balance—features that you'd expect from an Adobe product. In addition, you can't zoom, which one would think would be a given considering the iPad's pinch-and-zoom multi-touch support.

Adobe Camera Pack
The Adobe Camera Pack, a $3.99 purchase, opens the door to three other features, provided that you're using an iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, third or fourth generation iPod touch, iPad, or iPad 2. "Noise Reduce" (which eliminates grains and specs by copying pixels over the troubled area) proved useful, smoothing out a pair of photos taken in poor lighting; you can do this by tapping the button or swiping your finger. The other Camera Pack features—self-timer, auto-review—required the use of a camera. You would think that makes this the perfect app for the iPad 2, but it isn't—the software will support the iPad 2's camera at a later time. Another gripe: I felt that these premium features should have been part of the app itself and not paid extras.

Should You Buy Adobe Photoshop Express 2.0?
Adobe Photoshop Express for iPad won't replace the desktop Photoshop any time soon, but that's not its purpose. If you want to make fast edits on the go without needing to sit down at a laptop or desktop, or view images stored in your Photoshop.com locker, you'll find that this iPad app lets you do so quite easily. Still the limitations—the lack of color balance, copy and paste, zoom—makes it one that's exclusively for casual use.

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