I’m snap happy when it comes to taking photos of the Trikester. I got a new iPhone right before he was born, and I’ve already taken 1,700 photos. I love these pictures because they capture some of the best moments – my phone is always handy, unlike my DSLR. Unfortunately, once I take the picture, it just sits on the phone. I might text it to family and friends, but I don’t ever do anything more than that. I no longer sync my phone to my computer, and my iCloud storage is full, so when I switch phones, I lose many of my photos.

To solve this problem I went looking for a way to get my photos off my phone. I discovered a newer app called Groovebook.

Groovebook is a free app available for both iPhone and Android platforms. For $2.99 a month (the fee covers the cost of shipping), you get a photo book containing 100 pictures from your phone’s camera roll.

The process of creating a book is crazy easy. The first time you use the app you create an account, entering your mailing address and then linking a credit card. Once your account is set-up, the app accesses your camera roll and you select 100 photos (the app keeps track of the number you’ve selected). Once you’re done selecting photos, you hit upload, and that’s it! You’ll want to be on a wireless connection to upload – the process took about 15 minutes.

My first Groovebook

I didn’t keep track exactly, but the book arrived in less than a week. It’s about 3”x5” with a fun cover – the month I ordered it was a pretty metallic bronze, but I’ve also seen embossed reptile covers and sparkly blue covers – I’m assuming it changes every month. I like that each picture is perforated so you can easily tear it out to share with family, hang on the fridge, or scrapbook. I love that Groovebook takes the data from my phone and prints the date and location that each photo was taken above the image. I plan to put these monthly photo books in the Trikester’s memory box, so ten years from now I’ll really appreciate knowing when and where that picture was taken.

I love that Groovebook automatically adds the date and location for each photo.

The quality of the images is okay; the paper is relatively heavy and the images are nice and glossy, but they aren’t crisp enough to frame. If you’re familiar with digital photography, the pictures look like they were all shot with a high ISO, even if they were taken outside on a bright day. Although the photos aren’t perfect, it’s still a great deal at $2.99 for 100 prints.

How do you deal with your cell phone photos?