Beamr is one of those mouth-watering iPhone apps that wows not so much because of what it is, but because of what it could be.
The basic idea is very cool: Delve into your photo library, select a handful of photos and choose a cover shot. The app will then superimpose some text and graphics over the cover (you can change the cover text).
But the real magic happens when you share your little faux-magazine. Beamr uses “patent-pending JPEGmini optimization technology” to package and deliver the “magazine”; the result is very quick delivery, and the images can be saved by the recipient at full resolution (for example, 8MP if you shot the pictures with an iPhone 4S/5).
I yearn for more, though. The photos can’t be arranged in any way, and there’s only one style of cover. Also, the app is designed for the iPhone, not the iPad(s) on which it would really shine. Still, it’s a neat trick and worth checking out. And hopefully there’ll be updates that build it out in the near future.