Smile! Flickr has an official iPhone app

The official Flickr app for iPhone and iPod Touch offers search, browse, and upload features.

Better late than never? Following in the footsteps of countless third-party efforts, Flickr has finally made its official debut in the App Store.

The app hits the ground running--make that scrolling--with a slick Ken Burns-style slideshow of hand-picked images from the site.

An initial tap of the Recent, You, or Contacts button along the bottom leads you through a one-time authorization process (which requires a visit to Safari), after which you gain access to the respective user-account features on Flickr.

You can also search for photos and videos, of course, and do all the usual stuff with whatever you find: add to favorites, share via e-mail, leave a comment, etc.

Of course, the main appeal here is uploading: You can snap and upload a photo on the fly or choose an existing snapshot from your library. The app lets you assign the photo to a set, add tags (including a geotag from your current location), and choose a privacy level.

In short, the official Flickr app does just about everything you'd want it to (except batch uploads, that is), and with simplicity and style. It's free, of course, and it works with both free and Pro accounts.

So this begs the question: is there an existing third-party app that "does Flickr" better than Flickr's own app? Share your thoughts in the comments.