Pastebot is one of the most useful applications I’ve ever used on the iPhone. The concept of a clipboard manager sounds simple and may have you wondering what you actually need this app for anyway. However, aside from the obvious task of copy and paste, this application does much more than you think.

If you have used Tapbots’ other application, Convertbot, you should already have a sense of what Pastebot will look and feel like. It is a very well polished, smooth and intuitive application that lets you store text clippings and photos you have copied on your iPhone or iPod Touch. All you have to do is copy whatever you want, and then open up Pastebot and the material will automatically be copied onto the clipboard. Yes, you must open the application each time you to copy something to the clipboard. Apple’s APIs do not allow Pastebot to be run in the background. However, this really isn’t a huge deal unless you are a copy and paste addict.

Once the material is copied into the app, it will be saved for later use and may be pasted into any application on your device. Again, this sounds very basic and will probably make you wonder what makes this different than just using the default notes app on your iPhone. There are three main differences that make Pastebot really stand out. First of all, Pastebot also allows you to copy and paste photos as well as text. You can copy any photo into the app and save it for later use. The second main difference is that once your clippings are in the app’s clipboard, you can take advantage of the vast amount of features available to manipulate your text and photos. The third main difference is that you can easily get all of your clippings off of your iPhone and onto your Mac with the free desktop companion app. You can sync data back and forth almost instantly. For photos, this feature is invaluable.

Let’s discuss what you can actually do with your clippings once they are in Pastebot. Each clipping is automatically placed in the clipboard, ready to paste into any application. You can also better organize your clippings by adding titles and placing them in folders on your dashboard. For example, you can create folders for email templates, work clippings and web links. All clippings can be sent through email right from inside the app. A unique feature is that text can be searched via Google. However, this option will close out Pastebot and open Safari. It would be nice to have an in-app browser.

Each text clipping can also be manipulated to look exactly how you want it to look before pasting it into your next app. Some of these options include converting the text to lower or uppercase, adding quotes and replacing specific words with others. Photos can also be edited by applying filters such as black and white, invert, saturation and sepia. You can also crop the image and change its orientation. These features go above and beyond what a standard notes app can do. Besides copy and paste, Pastebot is also a text and photo editor.

If you’re still pondering at how this app can be useful to you, you should think about its best feature, syncing with your Mac computer. After downloading the desktop companion for free and briefly setting up the link to your iPhone through Wi-Fi, you can start enjoy the seamless copy and paste between your iPhone and computer. The companion app runs in the background on your Mac and when Pastebot is running there is a constant connection between the two. Anything in your clipboard can be instantly pasted into whatever application you’re working with on your computer. For example, if I’m typing in Word and would like to include a text clipping or web link I copied on my iPhone earlier, all I have to do is tap and hold on that clipping in Pastebot and it will be pasted right into my document. I can also paste photos in the same way. Usually, if you take a photo on your iPhone and want to get it into iPhoto, you need to connect your iPhone to your computer and sync to iPhoto. With Pastebot, all you have to do is tap and hold on a photo and it will automatically transfer into iPhoto. The entire process works in reverse as well. Anything on your Mac will be instantly moved to Pastebot when you click copy. It all happens in the blink of an eye.

The best thing about all this is that everything is seamless and intuitive. The app looks amazing and has more features than you’ll know what to do with. The only feature I see lacking is the option to share clippings to social networks. It would be great to be able to hit a single button to share my links or photos with Twitter and Facebook. Even an option to send to the SMS app would be great. The developer promises more to come in future updates and I personally can’t wait to see what’s next. Pastebot has absolutely earned a permanent spot on my iPhone and I’m sure I will be using it constantly. There are so many uses for this application that I have no doubt you’ll find one that makes the app work for you. There are other applications that have similar functions, but Pastebot does it in the most elegant way I’ve seen yet. Simply put, this is a must-have application for your iPhone or iPod Touch. Go get it.