iPhoto '09 Wins Macworld's Best of Show Award

Apple was sure to get some attention from Macworld folks with the unveiling of iLife '09 and iWork '09. Both suites have added an impressive array of new features and enhancements of Apple's iLife creative suite of applications, particularly iPhoto. Apparently, Macworld editors were so impressed with iPhoto '09 that they gave it the “Best of Show” award.

“Every January, Macworld's editors scour the show floor at Macworld Expo to find the hottest products making their debut at the trade show. This year, we chose nine products worthy of receiving a Macworld Best of Show award,” the site reveals. “iPhoto '09 looks like reason enough to upgrade to the latest version of iLife,” the editors who distinguished iPhoto '09 as a Best of Show award winner at Macworld Expo 2009 say.

Highlighted features included Faces, (a new function that introduces “face-detection and facial-recognition technology”) and Places (which lets photographers organize photos by location).

The report also mentions other cool additions to iPhoto's repertoire, such as integration with popular social networking web sites, such as Facebook and Flickr, and the inclusion of new slideshow themes. iPhoto also boasts the ability to export slideshows as videos for iTunes, iPods, or iPhones, this nabbing iPhoto yet another plus from the Macworld editorial team.

Adding iPhoto '09's face detection technology, it was clear that Apple's photo-management application was getting a top spot in Macworld's Best of Show list. The rest of the winning products were mentioned in the following order.

2. Cisco WebEx Meeting Center;
3. Cultured Code Things for Mac 1.0;
4. Ecamm Network BT-1 Bluetooth Web Cam;
5. FileMaker Pro 10;
6. HP MediaSmart Server;
7. Livescribe Pulse Smartpen;
8. Marketcircle Daylite touch;
9. Sling Media SlingPlayer for iPhone.

iPhoto '09 will be available by the end of January 2009 as part of the iLife '09 suite. As a standalone product, iLife '09 will retail for $79. The software is provided for free with the purchase of a new Mac.