PhotoSync ($1.99, app link) is a photo syncing and back-up app that has proved to be quite useful while on holidays. Usually while on longer trips, I backed up my photos on a laptop each day, just in case I would lose my memory card. However, I did not bring a laptop with me on my most recent two week trip to Hawaii. I took almost all of my photos on my iPhone, while my wife took photos with the Nikon SLR. Although I had packed with my Canon point and shoot camera (which I used for countless trips beforehand), I didn't use it at all. Simply put, I am quite satisfied with the image quality of the photos produced by the iPhone 4S and love what one can do with the photos within the phone, like edit then through iPhoto or put filters on them using apps such as Instagram, Diptic, or the newly found gem Fuzel, which I will be blogging on shortly.

Taking close to one hundred photos and maybe five short videos daily will eat up a lot of space on my phone, so I did a bit of research and found PhotoSync. Since we were lucky enough to have wifi in our condo, I was able to back up all my photos and videos each night using this app. Before the trip, I signed up for a Smugmug account, which gives me unlimited(!) uploads for both photo and video for just a few dollars per month. PhotoSync allows me to upload photos and videos from my phone directly to my Smugmug account. If you do not opt for a Smugmug account, do not worry. You are also able to upload photos to your Dropbox, Flickr, Google Drive, or even straight to your Facebook account. Simply swipe the menu each time you upload to choose the service you want. You can even upload to your PC or Mac using this free Photosync companion software. Transfer between different iOS devices is also an option, along photo transfer from computer to device.

Uploading my files regularly gave me the peace of mind that I was backing up all my photos and videos to the cloud. As I ran out of storage, I deleted the larger video files that I had already uploaded. Once the files were uploaded, I was able to share all of them with family and friends back home. No need to email them single photos.

Here is a short video showing how to upload/transfer photos and videos:

But what about Apple's very own Photostream, you ask? Although Photostream has many advantages, such as an ability to save your 1000 most recent photos taken, it will not back up your videos. Another problem is that if you take more than 1000 photos during an extended trip, your older photos will be removed from Photostream, removing them from iCloud forever.

Photosync is a universal app, so I downloaded (for no additional cost) it to my iPad and my old iPod touch and backed up their Camera Rolls as well.

PhotoSync plus Smugmug was the perfect solution for my needs. Although video uploads did require much more time, the app will diligently work in the background for you, meaning you can run other apps or even put your device on sleep. This app is going to be one of my go-to apps as a no-wires solution for photo transfer and backup.

Here is a screenshot of Photosyc for iPad, showing you can upload from Camera Roll, Photostream, or any other albums you may have:

And, finally, Photosync for iPhone:

I have free promotional codes for Photosync for three readers who think they could make use of it.

Here is how to get a chance to win:

1. Do one (or more) of the following three methods:

• Tweet this (or any) post from this blog (please include the hashtag #teachingwithipad)
• Like this page on Facebook
• Pin it on Pinterest
• Leave a comment on any of my posts. Make sure you include your Twitter username if you have one.

2. Follow me on Twitter

You may enter up to 3 times a day.

Winners will be contacted via Twitter. If you don't have a Twitter account, use the other methods to enter, then leave a comment and your email address. It will not be made public. Winning names will be announced on an update to this post.

More promo codes coming soon!

Thanks for reading!