Pinterest (iOS)

One of the fastest-growing sites ever to hit the Web can now be enjoyed via native mobile app, available for iPhone, iPad, and Android devices. Each app, designed specifically for its platform, lets you browse through pins and boards, add your own pins, and manage a few account settings.

If you don't have a Pinterest account, you can easily create one right from the app. Just walk through the initial setup, tap a few pictures, and let Pinterest choose a batch of users for you to follow. Once you're all set up, you can start browsing through pins, repinning others' items, and pinning your own. Just like the Pinterest Web site, the app opens up to your main dashboard, showing a feed of all the people and boards you follow. From here, you can swipe down through your feed, conduct a search, or create a new pin, using a photo already on your device or a new photo.

From the main dashboard, swipe right (Android) or hit the menu button (iOS) to see all of Pinterest's different categories. You can browse through Everything, Popular, Animals, Men's Fashion, Weddings, Humor, and more -- same as on the Web site. It's also easy to conduct a search for pins, boards, or people.

Your Pinterest profile shows followers and those you're following, as well as your Boards, Pins, and Likes. It even shows all of your items that have been liked or repinned by other users. Unfortunately, though, the mobile app does not let you edit your profile information, so if you need to change your About field, location, Web site, username, or profile photo, you'll have to do so on the Web.

With the Android app, pinning a photo from the Web is simple, so long as you can get the function to work. I ran into problems using different browsers on different devices, so be sure to check if this function works with your setup. While using your browser, go to Android's built-in share menu, and choose Create pin. This lets you choose which photo to pin, select a pinboard, add a description, and so on. The workflow here is exactly like that on the Web site.

Meanwhile, since the Safari browser on iOS devices doesn't play well with other apps, iOS users have to install the Pinterest bookmarklet to pin something from the Web. Alternatively, you could paste a URL into the Pinterest app's built-in browser, then use the Pin It button, but that's a hassle if you do most of your browsing in Safari like most iOS users.

One thing I noticed is that it's tough to create new boards from the Pinterest mobile app. Sure, when you're pinning an item, it gives you the choice to create a new board, but it doesn't let you do so outside of this context. This makes it difficult for users who need to create several boards in one fell swoop. Also, the app doesn't let you edit board descriptions or profile information, which is disappointing. And finally, moving pins between boards is just as difficult on the app as it is on the Web. This is something that Pinterest badly needs to fix.

If you mainly want to browse through pins, follow new users, and search for specific items, the Pinterest mobile app rocks. It's a beautiful app that offers an incredibly rich experience, similar to the full Web site. On the other hand, if you need to edit your profile or add new pins from the Web, then it may disappoint you.