I recently heard about about a blogging application for the iPhone called iBlogger from illumineX. Intrigued and seeing that they had plugins for Squarespace, I downloaded the app immediately from iTunes (iTunes Link) and had no problem spending the $9.99.

Now, a couple things should be noted before I continue: First, there are cheaper alternatives out there for blogging sites such as WordPress and Google's Blogger, but this was the first app I found that worked with Squarespace. Second, since I only use Squarespace, I can't comment on how iBlogger works with other blogging platforms.

Also, I decided that the best way to review this little gem was, shall we say, 'trial by fire'. So I'm writing this entire entry on my iPhone using iBlogger.

The Good New Is...

It works right out of the box (so to speak). I have had no problems running the application and adding my Squarespace account was a breeze. Once my account was added to the list, I immediately had access to all of my existing blog entries.

I appreciate as well that I can work on an entry and leave the application without losing my work or having the half-completed article publish before it is done. In the list of entries, iBlogger shows published articles with green text and entries-in-progress with black text.

Adding an image to a new post is a snap, giving you the option to take a picture from the iPhone camera or selecting one from the library. Once added, you can adjust alignment or remove it completely.

In addition to images, iBlogger allows you to add links, choose categories and add tags. It also has a GPS link so you can add the location you are blogging from, which will open a Google Map when clicked.

It should also be noted that iBlogger is fast, really fast. I'm using the application on an iPhone 3GS and it works as quickly as I can move with no delays and no hang ups.

And the Bad News...

While being a pretty robust application for a mobile device, there were a few things I struggled with.

The first thing I immediately noticed was the lack of text controls for selecting headers, colors, etc., within the editor. It is conceivable that this is an iPhone software limitation, but the only way to add headers or special text is to enter the source code. If you have ever tried to write code using the iPhone keyboard, you know what a frustrating experience this can be. A landscape keyboard might help with this a little, but landscape mode is not an option within iBlogger.

Also, while you can adjust the image alignment, you can't adjust where it goes within paragraphs. The one image, which is all that is allowed, is always within the first paragraph. Image resizing and cropping is also not an option as you can see in my screenshot above.

While adding a link is an option, it can't be done within the editor. It helps in generating the source code, but the code then has to be cut and paste in the appropriate place within the paragraph. It's only a hair faster than manually typing the code without using the link button.

Is it Worth It?

Seems to be! While it certainly isn't going to replace my desktop as a blogging tool, iBlogger can come in real handy when out on the road. I can see this application being used a lot at conferences, trade shows and big events like WWDC and CES.

Is it worth 10 bucks? That depends on how and when you are going to use it, but for me, absolutely. While there are some features and options missing, I'm willing to bet that future versions are only going to get better and fill in some of those gaps.