iPocket Draw Lite

I use PocketDraw for all my precision drawings. Snaps need more options, and trimming-extending tool can be tricky. Otherwise, I think it's one of the best drawing apps available so far.

Designing a CAD app you can use easily on something as small as a phone can't be easy, but this one seems to work quite well. I haven't really used it much yet, but so far I'm impressed. It hasn't crashed on my iphone4, and it has most of the features of a desktop 2D CAD program. The developers should utilize the retina display on iphone4/ipad2 and put text labels (or an option for it) on the tool buttons so its easier to learn whats what. I would like to be able to double tap an object to open its attributes and set them: Like how SolidWorks has the user free-draw entities and then set their attributes after creation. This menu could also include a checkbox (which would open a sub-menu) to add drafting features to that entity such as xdist/ydist, length, radius, etc. I think this would be the easiest way to add dimensions to a drawing on a touch-based system. This version is very good for creative design, but needs a little more work to be an efficient app for creating architectural or mechanical drawings.

I have been working with this for the past month. The newest version downloaded today (1.42) treats a group object very strangely (not sure if this is new or was also true with the earlier version). It appears that it ignores the group when aligning or scaling. The individual object selected to get the group is the only thing affected. Cannot scale a grouped object at all. Setting up the scale BEFORE doing any work is a must until the scaling issue can be fixed. I appreciate the ALIGN feature, esp. if the group thing is fixed. I figured out how to use the coordinates to align (clumsy but extremely accurate - a bit of yin and yang), and the Duplicate and Move function. I enjoy the app, and am getting it figured out - some different characteristics, but most of them can be figured out.

Very simple and easy app. I have tried about 6 other blueprint / technical drawings apps, and I like this one best. For my usage, it is better than the autocad, and many other similar apps. The full version is a bit pricey for the service if you are a hobbyist and not a company but the free version is quite helpful for small projects/ evaluation, and hey, can't beat free. It could make use of a thorough guide on the tools (can't figure how to trim lines yet, etc...). The interface is easy also sometimes confusing (the layers tabs, etc...). With these easy fixes, it would get five stars! Oh yeah, and I could not make sense of how to grab individual move handles vs resize object handle... I lost about half of my time working around that.

This app is clever and well designed. It's sort of like a complex version of ms paint. It took me a while to understand how to draw just a filled circle, let alone where to find color. However, once I found what I was looking for, and figured out which movements were required to get the desired effect, I was on my way. Havent checked out the tutorial yet, though. Worth your time if you are paitient and willing to learn. If you want something simple, for a child for example, then dont bother. Theres a learning curve here.