iPhone Color Tools

This is a lite version of the iPhone app Color Stream. With it you can create one color palette using all the same tools and features of Color Stream.

This iPhone app is free.

ColorRef is an app that allows you to compare colors in a scheme by adding them into your palette and then reviewing them. It does automatic conversion of your colors in hex, RGB or CoreGraphics format. You can only input your colors via RGB, so if you don't already know the RGB numbers this could be difficult. Also, I found the sliders unresponsive at times, which made me overshoot on my color values. This got frustrating.

This iPhone app is free.

Palettes connects with Color Lovers online to allow you to browse the palettes there. You can import ones you like into Palettes and then fiddle with them with the blending and mixing tools.

Palettes Lite is free and has some limitations including: only 3 palettes can be saved, with only 5 colors in the palette. Plus other limitations.

Color Picker is a simple Hex or RGB color display program. You input the RGB (via a slider) or Hex code (via a drop-down) and it will show you what that color looks like. If you need a conversion tool from Hex to RGB or you just like to play with colors this might be a useful tool for only $0.99. But there are other tools that are the same price or free that do the same thing or better.

This app costs $0.99.

Hex-O-Matic provides a reference for the Hex, RGB, and CMYK codes for Pantone color swatches. It is easy to scroll through the swatches and see the different colors. But there is no search function, so if you're looking for a specific Pantone color, you need to scroll a lot until you find it. There is also no option to email yourself the codes.

This app costs $0.99.

HTML Colors allows you to preview how your color schemes will look as text and background colors on a Web page. This is very useful to Web designers as having color swatches is nice, but seeing what those colors will look like in a Web type environment is even more helpful. You can even click on the "Random" button to get a random color combination.

I would love to see a few additions like:

• More colors in the sample, such as a 3- or 5-color swatch
• The ability to save more than one scheme (you can have it remember your last choice)
• Suggested colors, you choose a background color and it recommends text colors to go with it

This app costs $0.99.

ColorSutra allows you to input a color via the color wheel or sliders and then it provides a suggested palette of colors that "match". You can also input a photo from the camera (or photos on an iPod) and pick a color from the photo.

I found the application hard to use. The sliders didn't slide well, and while it's possible to input colors as Hex, RGB, or CMYK, those tools are hard to find (in a small icon on the color wheel page). Then, once you have your color palette, it's hard to find out the information about the colors so that you can use them in another application. I am also not sure how it decides that colors "match" most of the schemes I made seemed very glaring to me.

This app costs $1.99.

cliqcliq Colors is a app that helps you create a color palette of up to 12 colors. You input your color as a slider that toggles as either RGB or Hex. Then you drag it down to the color palette box. Once you have a palette you like you can save it. You can also create colors based on HSL (HSB), CMYK, or even grayscale.

The only thing this app is missing is the ability to email your palettes to yourself so that you can use them in another program.

This app costs $2.99.