The app is literally what you think it is. You take a picture and it will tell you exactly what kinds of food are in the picture and give you a rough estimate of how many calories are there.
Once added, pictures are stored by date so you can roughly keep track of your daily intake. But the reason most of us will download this app is for the seemingly magical ability to recognize food. I had huge doubts as to whether this app could perform as advertised but in my tests, the app successfully recognized 9 out of the ten items I photographed. Even obscure things like my tub of sliced ham and mashed apple pie were correctly identified. I have no idea how that works, but it was amazing and opened my mind to some awesome uses for this app.
If you have a few dollars to spare and are looking for some great technology to show off to friends, check this out. It may not be perfect for a diet, but it will definitely impress those around you.
Download the free Appolicious iPhone app
