LateNiteSoft has just released version 1.4 of Sketches, its popular drawing app for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Together with version 1.3, released two weeks ago, the updates provide significant improvements over the original 1.0 version


Notable new features over previous versions of Sketches include several new drawing options and tools, such as support for text input using the on-screen keyboard, or the incorporation of an eraser tool for easier fine tuning. Additional clipart shapes continue to amuse and provide fun.

“Because Sketches was available since the opening of the App Store, we’ve managed to gather tremendous feedback during these initial weeks of operations” says Jorge Llubi, co-founder and COO. “Many of the most interesting ideas and suggestions from our customers have been built into either Sketches 1.3 or Sketches 1.4. It’s a challenge to work on so many new areas while trying to keep the same simplicity and ease of use our customers cherish, and we are proud of the result”.

The sharing options have also had a significant revision. An integrated Web Server is available from Sketches 1.3, which allows drawings to be downloaded directly from the iPhone or iPod in JPEG, PNG or vectorial PDF formats. Mail delivery is also possible in Sketches 1.4, which complements the previous facilities to export pictures to the Photo Album or the Twitter online service.

The User Interface sports an unobtrusive, elegant Tip System that displays small overlaid “hints” as the customer discovers new features or tools. Other improvements include the ability to discard all changes and revert to the last previously saved copy of the drawing, which will encourage customers to experiment with the built-in sample tutorial, created using Sketches.

In addition to the new features and the improvements on previously existing ones, LateNiteSoft has introduced memory usage optimizations and fixed several bugs. “Our growing experience and understanding of the SDK has been put to use in the newest versions of Sketches” says Pedro Cuenca, co-founder and CTO. “The new version is more responsive, more stable and more efficient. It not only shows the benefit of extensive testing and code optimizations of our own, but also takes advantage of the greatly improved firmware versions released by Apple”.

After the release of several updates in the past weeks, LateNiteSoft is now working in Sketches 2.0, their next major release of the product. “We have a lot of ideas about new features and advanced options that will keep us busy for many months”, explains Jorge Llubi. “We don’t believe in ephemeral hits. On the contrary, we want our iPhone apps to replicate the same ideals we try to follow in our Mac business line: frequent updates, high quality, attention to detail and dedicated customer support - that’s the only way our customers will find Sketches fun, useful and fresh for a long time”.

Sketches 1.4, a free upgrade for existing users, is available now for $4.99 or 3.99€.

Direct App Store link: Sketches 1.4

Labels: Apple

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