Here we go again. It looks like the Quick Snap iPhone photography app has been pulled from the App Store because it makes alternative use of the buttons on the Apple smartphone.
We saw this same thing happen with the Camera+ app, as both programs enabled customers to use the volume rocker as a physical shutter. Both of these programs violated Apple’s developer guide and were rightly pulled from the store. Camera+ came back without the shutter functionality.
While I never used the Quick Snap app and do think Apple has the right to pull it if it violates its terms of services, I think these types of programs show that there is a desire for a physical shutter to take pictures. With the HDR capabilities, the iPhone 4 makes for a good shooter but I sincerely hate having to hit the screen to take a shot.
That’s one of my favorite things about Windows Phone 7: every device running Microsoft’s new mobile platform has to have a physical camera button. What’s more, you can hold the button down to launch the camera app even if the phone is in the locked mode. This isn’t really a security threat because you can’t do anything other than taking photos in this mode.
What do you think, friends? Is it better to have a physical shutter button or is that just another relic of the past?