photosharing
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Dropbox continues media buying spree with photo aggregator Snapjoy
Dropbox is further framing up its media ambitions with the acquisition of photo service Snapjoy, coming hot on the heels of its Audiogalaxy purchase and photo-centric Dropbox 2.0 iOS launch. Snapjoy lets you archive and view all your photos from one place, whether they're stocked on your camera, smartphone, PC or sites like Flickr and Instagram. The terms of the purchase weren't disclosed, but the two companies know each other well, having each scored seed money, advice and connections from the co-called Y Combinator venture capital program. In a blog post, Snapjoy said it's stopped accepting any new signups as part of the deal, though it assured current users that they "can continue to use Snapjoy to share and enjoy photos just as you do now." It added that the sale will bring its service to more than 100 million Dropbox users at some point, and it looks to give its new owner options in the photo space. That might see Dropbox butting heads with the likes of Flickr, Picasa and new partner Facebook -- who recently launched its own Photo Sync service.
DabKick has a unique twist on photo sharing- real time
DabKick is a free app that allows you to create and share a slide show from your iPhone in realtime with someone else, no matter where they are as long as they have Internet access. First, gather some pictures from your camera roll on the app, then text or email a friend or family member. They get a URL, and when they launch it, they'll see the pictures. As you browse through them, the other person will see that action on their end. The app supports chatting and emoticons. This is a different approach to sending a URL and hoping the person sees it. What makes it even better is that the other person does not need the app to view your photos. This is a great way to share family photos or a Christmas party with people who aren't there. I can think of lots of ways to use it. I tried it out this morning with a friend, and it worked just fine. He was viewing on another iPhone. I noticed that he could control the scrolling, and I would see it on my screen. That way, he could view the photos at his own pace. This app is just for the iPhone and iPod touch. It really needs an iPad version. %Gallery-173699%
Flickr for iOS gets a major overhaul, we go hands-on (video)
Just like Marissa Mayer promised, Yahoo has revamped its Flickr app for iOS to bring it back in line with the oh-so-social modern era. Whereas the Android app was updated back in August, the iPhone version has had only minor improvements over the last few years and was starting to look seriously dusty compared to the competition. In terms of individual features, the new app doesn't do much that various other third-party apps can't do already, but it does bunch them all into one polished package that is happy to work across multiple networks. In addition to Flickr, for instance, you can readily share your snaps with Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr. You might also dig the camera app, which separates exposure and focus points to give you more creative control over your images -- and yes, there are the obligatory filters too. The app is live on the App Store right now, but check out our brief hands-on after the break for a preview of its strong points.%Gallery-173199%
Instagram rolling out web profiles, sepia toning the world's browsers one account at a time
Instagram is getting ready to open up its collection of filtered images to the web. The photosharing service announced via blog post that it's going to be rolling out web profiles over the next few days, bringing profile photos, bios and shared images to easily navigable URLs at instagram.com/[username]. If you have photos set to private, you'll still get a profile, but those images won't be shared with the web at large. The site also notes that web uploading isn't currently enabled, seeing as how it's always been focused on mobile devices. If you don't have a page yet, you should be good to go within the week. In the meantime, you can check out other profiles in Instagram at the source link below.
Windows Phone 8 Rooms give every group its private space
Microsoft is already creating a safe, fenced-off area in Windows Phone 8 through Kids Corner, but it's expanding that to include nearly everyone through Rooms. A rough parallel to Groupme, Rooms lets families, friends or companies share calendars, chats, notes and photos without letting any prying eyes get a peek. And if others aren't following the Windows Phone way, they can still view some of the content from another platform. There's no doubt that Microsoft really hopes its communal addition is a way to squeak out an extra phone sale or two from those who like to stick together. For more, check out our Windows Phone 8 event liveblog! %Gallery-169556%
Photoset is a great free way to share photos
Photoset hit the App Store today, and I am pretty impressed. The app comes from the Tumblr folks and lets you select multiple photos from your iOS device, arrange them, add a caption and put them on the web. When your photos are uploaded, you'll get a URL you can email or share through Tumblr or Twitter. Check here for some example photosets. The app requires no registration, however if you do have a Tumblr account, you can login via the app, select a default blog and upload your photos to it. It's a lot simpler and less cumbersome than many of the photo sharing services out there. The web page produced has your caption at the top and a nice dark gray background so your photos stand out. Any browser on a mobile device or a computer can see your images. My only gripe is that when you are doing multiple photos, you have to keep going back to your camera roll each time. It would be much better if you could just check the images you want and then they would be loaded into your presentation. You don't get much control of your layout. You simply drag your photos into the order you want. After a photoset is created, you can't make changes unless you made a Tumblr post from your app. Then, you can make changes to the Tumblr post via the web browser. The only thing I found to be unintuitive was moving photos around. You have to tap on the photo and wait a second or so until you can change its position. Photoset is highly recommended, and at a price of free, it is a no-brainer. The app is universal and requires iOS 5 or greater. With a few changes this app would be perfect. As it is, it is very, very good. Grab it if you want an easy and free way to share photos. Check out the gallery below for some screen shots. %Gallery-168167%
Canon launches Project 1709: a strangely named photo service with deep Facebook hooks
A prerequisite for launching a cloud storage solution is a strange name, we understand that much. But where Picasa, Flickr and Box all at least hint at their intentions, Canon's new photo service sounds more like a plot device from Lost than an online repository for your snapshots. Project 1709 is actually named for the beta launch date (today, September 17th) and looks to take on the big players in the field with a slick UI and integration with social networks. The tiled design puts all your uploaded images in an easy to navigate and glanceable layout, with a focus on organization. Pics can be filtered based on tags you add, date or locations pulled from the EXIF data. All the camera's settings are also exposed, allowing you to figure out how exactly you captured each shot. There's even deep Facebook integration that makes it easy to not only publish photos to your profile, but pull them in from the social network along with comments. You can sign up at the source link, or simply learn more from the gallery and PR below.
Use Fotobooks+ to organize, store and share photos on your iPhone
Fotobooks+ is a US$0.99 app for iPhone that lets you organize photos in your Camera Roll into albums. The results look great and can be locked to keep select photos private. Here's my look at Fotobooks+. Pictures can be annotated with captions, which only appear once you've tapped an image. A second tap replaces the album backdrop with a black background. If you have a Dropbox account, the albums can be saved there, and retrieved from the cloud if disaster strikes. Additionally, images can be emailed or sent to Facebook directly from the app. %Gallery-163431% You can have page after page of albums, all with different styles. You can, of course, put the images in any order, or move them between albums. All in all, this is a nice way to store photos with some features that go beyond what Apple offers in iOS. There are a few problems, however. The albums aren't very smart about displaying longer title text. I named an album "Landscapes" and the app wrapped the "s" onto a new line. I think the font size should be reduced to prevent this. When you mail a photo, your custom label doesn't go along with it. I would think the purpose of the label is to share that information with others, but it doesn't work that way. Also, complete albums can't be shared, just individual photos. The developers say they will add some new display effects in an upcoming version and that would be welcome. Fotobooks+ is a nice app, and it's priced appropriately. With a few adjustments it would be a world-class solution for photo storage and display. As it is, it is a very good app worthy of your consideration. Fotobooks+ requires iOS 5.1. It is not a universal app, and I think an iPad version or a true universal version would be a really good addition to the feature set. You can see some screenshots in the gallery above.
Blinq Photo will save and share your images
Blinq Photo lets you access, share and edit photos on a home computer remotely. Its purpose is to provide users with a free solution for creating and sharing photos and albums. I found it to be simple and effective and requires very little fuss. Let me walk you through the process of getting Blinq Photo set up: Install Blinq Photo on your Mac. It's free in the Mac App Store. Create an account. Watch as Blinq Photo scans your iPhoto and/or Aperture Libraries, tagging each photo and album with a unique URL. Next, install the iOS app and log into your account. You'll see the albums and photos on your home computer (via Wi-Fi or 3G) as long as the host Mac is running and has an active Internet connection. From there you can share a photo or album via email, Facebook or TwitPic, order prints or save an image to your Camera Roll. Once you have the photo on your iPhone or iPad, you can edit it or modify it with any photo editor you have. %Gallery-161324% Photos shared via email can be viewed in Blinq if your recipient has it installed or in a browser. Having access to all my photos and being able to send them at full resolution is a very nice feature and somewhat makes up for the loss of similar features in MobileMe when that service was discontinued last month by Apple. I found the app reliable and speedy. It would be nice to create albums and slide shows, and I'm told that capability is coming. I'd also like to be able to send photos to others without them having to have a Blinq Photo account. That capability is also promised, but no dates were given. Documentation is sparse. There is no help built into the Mac or iOS app, but there is an FAQ on the company website. When you install the Blinq app on your Mac, it does so silently, never telling you it is done or what to do next. I think some users will be confused. The Blinq photo folks hope to make some money creating printed products from your photos, but there are no intrusive ads or popups nagging you about this. Blinq Photo is very clever and has much potential. It's secure, and your pictures are stored on your own computer rather than a server outside your control. The albums you send to others don't look as nice design-wise as the late, lamented MobileMe galleries, but it's a start. For those after a little more polish and don't mind sacrificing remote access to their image libraries, consider Apple's iPhoto for iOS. It's US$4.99 but will let you create and share albums online.
Facebook improves photo viewing with larger images, takes cues from Google+
Facebook has offered photo sharing in one form another since shortly after the site's launch, but while certain features have been added over the years, such as tagging and downloads, image formatting has remained mostly unchanged. Until today. Facebook has announced that it will roll out a new tool for thumbing through galleries across the site, presenting photos in a new square format with the option to "highlight" certain shots to increase their footprint on the page. Google+ users may recognize the format, which bears some resemblance to the tool on that site. We haven't seen the feature go live on Facebook just yet, but eager social networkers can preview it today at the source link below.
Face.com kills developer APIs and Klik app three weeks after Facebook acquisition
A ripple went through Face.com's developer community three weeks ago when the company was acquired by Facebook. After all, what earthly reason would the social network have for continuing third-party developer support of the product? None, as it turns out -- API support for the firm's mug recognition software will be dropped in early August, and its iPhone app, Klik, is now gone from the App Store. Despite recent assurances to the contrary (pictured above) Face.com pulled the plug in order to devote its resources to Zuckerberg and Co., according to an email it sent to developers. Naturally, the sudden reversal has inflamed that group, with prominent members tweeting language like "boycotting" and "months of work wasted." There's a sliver of hope, however, for forlorn developers -- at least one member of the community says he's been granted an API extension through October. In the meantime, developers will likely be venting -- and won't even be able to track that rollercoaster of emotions anymore.
Instagram adds Photo Page to web: new colors, user comments, not much else
Instagram's been moving along briskly with its Android and iOS apps, but the hipster-tinter-photo-sharing-Facebook acquisition's web presence has been lagging behind in comparison. But there's good news now if you're desk-bound thanks to the new "Photo Page," which lets you log in, change your profile and add comments or likes to images. The other tweak is a fresh look for the site, matching the app with a blue, dare we say, Facebook-esque theme and larger images, no doubt to show off those mega-megapixel smartphone cameras. It's likely a first step in unifying its web offering and apps, and with a name like Photo Page, no one can accuse it of wasting that Facebook booty on marketing whizzes.
Face.com acquired by Facebook for an estimated $80 million+, facial tagging clearly at the forefront
Facebook already dropped the "the," so why not oversimplify and drop the "book," too? All jesting aside, Facebook is continuing its recent buying spree with the acquisition of Face.com for an estimated $80 - $100 million. The Israeli-based startup is being entirely scooped up by Zuckerberg's social network -- talent and technology included -- and it's fairly obvious that the company's heralded facial recognition IP is what Facebook is truly after. To date, Facebook's desktop tagging recognition is ho hum at best, and it's practically an afterthought on the mobile front; 'course, with Camera• now being released, it's high time the company got serious about tagging on the go. For those wondering, Face's blog post on the matter seems to make clear that third-parties currently using its API will continue to be supported, and while there aren't specific plans being laid out, we're told that the "next steps are going to be exciting for all of us." In related news, it's tremendously unlikely that Barnes & Noble lets go of book.com in order to give Facebook the pleasure of owning both ends of the URL spectrum.
Scalado Photobeamer for iOS brings rapid photo sharing to any web-connected display (video)
Scalado's latest 99 cent app for iOS only does one little thing, but it does it well. Its singular mission is to let you share an image from your Camera Roll to any web-connected display in front of you, without having to navigate through a more sophisticated file-sharing platform or use extra hardware on the receiving device. That recipient can be anything -- a smart TV, tablet, PC, Mac, games console, whatever -- so long as it has a browser pointed at the Photobeamer homepage. That page displays a QR code, which provides all the clever linkage you need: you simply load up the app on your mobile, pick the image you want to share, and then point the rear camera at the QR code to beam the image across via the web. Having given it a quick test, we'd say it's definitely up to regular domestic challenges where you just want to display a few photos rather than perhaps videos or presentation slides, and where there's no need to print or store shared images. You can swipe left and right between different pictures in your gallery, and also choose whether you want those images to be fitted to the recipient display or resized to fill it. There's a video after the break to help you decide if that's worth a dollar, while the Photobeamer app itself waits patiently at the iTunes link below.
Bump app for Android and iOS adds desktop photo sharing
Bump has managed to garner quite a following among iPhone and Android users, but they've so far only been able to transfer files between two mobile devices, not between their phone and their home computer. The company's managed to find a workaround of sorts to that limitation though, and has today rolled out a new feature that will let you send photos (and only photos) from your phone to your desktop. To do so, you'll first have to update the Bump app on your phone and then head to the Bump website, at which point you can simply tap the spacebar to transfer your photos (with your phone if you want to keep the whole "bump" motif going). As you can probably surmise, that means photos are transferred to Bump's website and not directly to your computer, but that does have the added benefit of making the photos a bit easier to share on your social network of choice.
Facebook releases new filter-equipped Camera app for iPhone and iPod touch
Looking for yet another way to share photos on Facebook? Then you now have a new option to consider courtesy of the company itself, which has today rolled out its new Facebook Camera app for the iPhone and iPod touch. It promises to let you share and view photos faster than within the main Facebook app (not to mention give you higher-res photos), and you'll also get a variety of Instagram-style filters (15 in all) as well as some basic editing tools -- features that were apparently developed independently by Facebook itself and not borrowed from Instagram, which it hasn't yet completed its acquisition of. As with Facebook's other apps, it's completely free, and you can grab it right now at the App Store link below.
Sidecar comes out of beta, reinvents phone calls
Smartphones have revolutionized how we communicate and the way we create, share and consume content. Yet there's one aspect of using these devices that remains stuck in the last millennium, and that's the calling experience -- yes, apparently some people still make phone calls. Sure, there are plenty of VoIP and video calling apps out there, but few are simple and beautiful. Enter Sidecar, a free app which aims to reinvent the way we make phone calls by adding messaging as well as real-time video, photo, location and contact sharing to that antiquated calling experience. It achieves this through an intuitive and polished user interface plus a handful of standards such as SIP and XMPP. Phone calls between Sidecar users are free anywhere in the world -- the app even supports free WiFi calling to any number in the US or Canada. While Sidecar's been available in beta on Android for several weeks, it's launching on iOS today with support for the iPhone and iPod touch. We've been using the app on and off for a few days on several handsets, including a Galaxy Nexus HSPA+ and an iPhone 4S and it works exactly as described. Looking for additional details? Check out the demo video and full PR after the break.%Gallery-155893%
Apple may be prepping iCloud upgrade, photo-sharing features
According to the Wall Street Journal, Apple plans to announce an update to its iCloud service at the WWDC in June. The revamp will include new photo-sharing features that will also allow users to comment on images -- bringing a little social flavor to the data syncing service. The personal media syncing is also going to expand to support videos, allowing you to quickly upload clips from your phone and have them appear on your computer. If that weren't enough, the same sources also claim that Apple is building out a syncing service for Notes and Reminders, which will debut alongside iOS 6, as previous leaks have indicated. Obviously none of this is concrete, but it certainly sounds as if Apple is planning to put some serious effort into making iCloud succeed where MobileMe failed. Such a dramatic upgrade might also help explain the trickle of tips we've been receiving this morning that iCloud's email service is down.
Twitpic for iPhone brings four years of image-sharing history, one year too late
Having become a staple for 35 million life-observing extroverts already, Twitpic has suddenly decided to launch itself into the world of iOS apps. You may justifiably question the point of yet another platform for sharing photos and videos over Twitter, given how well the official app, Instagram and others now handle such things. But then you'd be missing out on a community that has been steadily growing since even before mobile photography took off, and whose visual ramblings are actually much funnier and more amazing than even the brightest shots of the Dutch skyline.
Samsung announces buddy share feature, automatically sends photos to friends and family for you
Whenever we take a group photo, it's always a pain to have to go and email a copy to everyone afterwards. Good thing Samsung's rolled out a new buddy photo share feature on its new Galaxy S III to save us those precious post-photo seconds. It works using facial recognition tech to identify each of your subjects, then shoots the picture to them automatically via email or text message. Fantastic, now our mother won't be pestering us for weeks to get copies of all those family reunion photos next year.
