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Switched On: iOS 6 gets back from the app
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology. Apple's App Store has more smartphone apps than those of its competitors. But the sheer size of the library is not the only source of consternation for Google or Microsoft, which would both readily concede that it's also important to obtain the kind of key apps, optimized apps and platform-first apps the iPhone enjoys. The iPhone's commanding marketplace lead is due to several factors. These include the huge number and historical affluence of its users and the ease of its App Store. The iPhone, though, was not the first phone to have apps. In fact, in its early days, it didn't have apps at all as the company urged developers to create optimized web apps for the platform similar to what Mozilla is now advocating for its streamlined mobile operating system Boot2Gecko. Apple originally put its efforts into creating archetypical apps for tasks such as calling, browsing, email and mapping. Rather than open the iPhone to third-party developers at first, it handpicked partners for various features, such as Google for maps and Yahoo for weather and stocks.
Facebook completes acquisition of Instagram, eyes improved mobile experience
The FTC just completed its investigation into Facebook's acquisition of Instagram late last month, and now the two companies have announced that the billion dollar deal is officially closed. Instagram has also confirmed that its team will be making the move to Facebook's offices, but it assures folks that the "Instagram app and its features will stay the same one you know and love." For its part, Facebook reiterated its statement that it is "committed to building and growing Instagram independently," and that "Instagram will continue to serve its community, and we will help Instagram continue to grow by using Facebook's strong engineering team and infrastructure." It also offers a small hint of things to come by noting that "we also can't wait to work with the talented Instagram team to improve the mobile experience." In other news, Instagram also took the opportunity to announce that it's now crossed the five billion photo mark -- no word on a breakdown by filters, though.
Send Instagram to Dropbox for a cool Apple TV screen saver
Just recently, I posted about the Instacube, a Kickstarter project that allows you to more easily show off your great (or at least well-filtered) photography work on Instagram. But it turns out you don't need a whole cube to do that. With the proper tweaking of IFTTT (a tool we at TUAW also love), you can set up Instagram images to display on your Apple TV's screensaver, making for a fun party trick or just a cool way to show off the pictures you've been taking. All you need to do is save your Instagram pictures to Dropbox, and then share that folder out to the Apple TV, and boom, instant streaming screensaver. There are a few hitches, unfortunately, and the biggest one is that your Apple TV won't automatically pull in new images, so you'll have to sync folders after you add (or remove) any images yourself to see new pictures. If you want to pull in pictures from more than one Instagram user, you'll also have to set up multiple IFTTT recipes, one for each user you want to watch. But the good news is that you can pull in from any other photo feeds as well -- maybe a better solution, to show off pictures from a party, for example, would be to use a Flickr tag so that anyone can post to it. At any rate, it's cool idea for sure. IFTTT is a really powerful tool, and hookups like this can really give your Apple devices to some new and interesting uses. [via MacStories]
TNW issues cautionary tale about using the iPhone as your only camera
When a couple in San Francisco got married a few weeks ago, they entrusted the task to photographers Kim Thomas and Cole Rise. The photographers shot the event entirely using the iPhone 4S at the couple's request. Thomas then used Instagram filters and posted the gorgeous images to the service, where Instagram picked up on it and told the rest of the world. The Next Web's Matthew Panzarino wrote a piece today in response to Instagram's blog post, saying that while an iPhone is an excellent camera for on-the-go opportunities, don't have it be the only camera you go to for special occasions. He rightfully makes the point that there are just some deficiencies the iPhone will never overcome when it comes to color gamut, light sensitivity and depth of focus. Thomas herself admitted that she took a tripod in case San Francisco City Hall, where the wedding took place, was poorly lit. The images she shot were gorgeous. Like Panzarino, I take a DSLR and my iPhone when I have a chance to plan where I'm going to shoot. I was lucky enough to go watch filming of BBC's Doctor Who in New York City in April. The DSLR captured shots from a distance that I couldn't get with my iPhone. By shooting in RAW mode, I was later able to go into Aperture and get decent photos of the actors recording a scene in Central Park. But one of the takes had Matt Smith, the current Doctor, running through the crowd, and I happened to be just a couple feet away from him. That I managed to capture on my iPhone 4S thanks to HDR mode. It's my favorite picture from the day, but it's still obvious that it's an image shot with an iPhone. The iPhone 4S is an amazing camera, and it's now my go-to camera if I need a point-and-shoot. At my day job, reporters are equipped with iPhones, and the images they shoot now with those iPhones are far better than the point-and-shoot cameras they used to have. TIME and Sports Illustrated have had photo spreads where all the images were shot via mobile phone (usually the iPhone) and then processed through Instagram. But like Panzarino, if there's a special occasion, I want my regular camera as well. If you do use your iPhone as your sole camera, don't take the photos just using Instagram filters. If you do, make sure the option to save the original photo is on in Instagram. It should be on by default, but check just in case. Otherwise use the regular camera to get a shot, then run it through Instagram. That way, if you don't like the end result, you haven't lost the entire image. Shooting with the original camera also lets you do some post-processing on the image before you apply the Instagram filter, which can lead to some better photos overall. Invest in good processing software for either your Mac or your iPhone/iPad. My favorite iOS app for this is Snapseed ($4.99), which is far easier to use than the iOS version of iPhoto. On the Mac, I use either Photoshop or Aperture to handle post-processing.
The Instacube displays your Instagram pictures with class
Usually, I'm a little leery of not-yet-funded Kickstarter projects like this, but what the heck, it's Friday, and the Instacube seems pretty awesome. It's just a few thousand dollars away from being funded anyway, so the odds are pretty good that if you order one, you'll get it without a problem. And yes, it's a digital photo frame, designed especially to grab your great photography work on Instagram. You get to see the photos taken at full resolution, and the unit, once hooked up to your wifi, will even connect up to a few different Instagram feeds, so you can follow more than one set of pictures. Plus, the whole thing is encased in a pretty snazzy Instagram-inspired casing. Unfortunately, the $99 intro price is sold out, but you can still grab one for $149 (and the whole thing runs on Android, so there could be extra functionality later, too). Seems like a great way to show that growing collection of classic Instagram photos off in person.
FTC closes investigation into Facebook's buyout of Instagram, filtered photo fans rejoice
While the financials for Mark Zuckerberg and his minions hasn't been the best of late, Facebook got some good news today when the FTC closed its investigation of the social network's acquisition of Instagram. That means that the merger now has the green light to be completed, and filtered photographs will be joining all those pokes, likes and Spotify songs in Timelines sooner rather than later. You can get the good news straight from the government's mouth at the source below.
Insert Coin: Instacube is a hip, Android-based digital photo frame for your Instagram feeds
In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you'd like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with "Insert Coin" as the subject line. Ever wished you had another option aside from using Instagram's mobile apps and permalinks for viewing your retrofied photos? The folks at D2M certainly did, resulting in what it likes to call Instacube. The square gizmo is essentially a 7.5-inch (2.5 inches deep), OneStep-themed digital photo frame purposed specifically for displaying and interacting with Instagram photo feeds. Up front, a 6.5-inch LCD touchscreen (600 x 600, the full resolution of photos on the service) allows you to tap between pictures and type when needed. Apart from that, three physical buttons on its top handle power, switching feeds and favoriting photos. Basically, the unit looks out for your specified hashtags so it can follow multiple Instagram feeds and automatically cycle through the images -- niche yes, but it's still undeniably cool. Android runs the show (no word on what version) atop an undisclosed ARM processor that's bundled with 4GB of storage and 256MB of RAM, while b/g/n WiFi keeps it connected to Instagram independently. Speaking to its OS, tinkerers should be pleased to know that D2M plans to continually enhance its functionality, and potentially open it up to developers. Also worth note, Instacube sports a built-in rechargeable battery, allowing it to operate completely untethered when the mood strikes. Interested in pledging your own coin to help fund the project? 1,000 backers can get in on their own Instacube for a cool $99, after which it'll jump to $150. Another 1,000 can get a duo for $199, and the same goes for a limited edition "vintage spring" green variant that'll set you back $249. Past that, bulk options are on offer maxing out at $5,000 for 40 units, and $10,000 for 25 and a "Design Experience" with D2M. All in all, the Instacube project has 31 days to reach a $250,000 funding goal, with the first units set to ship in March 2013 if all goes well -- hopefully we'll see more than just renders of it well before then. Hit up the project at source link and the video overview past the break if you're interested in liberating your Instagram snaps to that larger display.
Instagram 3's new Photo Maps feature adds location to your photo stories
Instagram 3.0, the free photo sharing app for iPhone, is available and provides a number of enhancements. The most impressive is the new Photo Maps feature. By grabbing geolocation information that is saved with each photo, Instagram creates a world map of your images by location. As you zoom in on each location, say Florida for example, you see locations in that state, then in each city. You can add new photos to your Photo Maps through the new photo upload screen, which features a prominent Add to your Photo Maps button. Instagram has also increased the length of the captions you can add to each photo, and provides a way to name a location. %Gallery-162651% The app has some other improvements that make life a bit easier. There's now infinite scrolling when you're looking at images; when you get to the bottom of a page, more images are added automatically without having to tap a "load more" button. On the iPhone 4S, the app seems faster and more responsive in some limited testing. It's also possible now to report individual comments as spam or obscenity by swiping right on the comment. You're given the choice of just deleting the comment, or deleting and reporting the comment. This addition is designed "to ensure Instagram is a safe and fun place to share your photos," in the words of the Instagram team. Fellow TUAW blogger Megan Lavey-Heaton noticed that the filters can now be applied before you take a photo. I verified that, and also noticed that the tilt-shift and other focus filter can also be applied before shooting. Photo Maps is a compelling feature that may just cause a lot of people to pick up their pace of posting to the Instagram photo sharing service. Instagram 3.0 is a free update; we'd recommend you update as soon as possible if you haven't already.
Instagram 3.0 adds Photo Maps, infinite scrolling and speed improvements (video)
Wondering if that Facebook acquisition would slow down the pace of innovation at Instagram? Perhaps v3.0 will answer that. The famed photo sharing network -- now some 80 million users deep -- is detailing its latest user interface overhaul today, and geolocation is at the heart of it. Lining up with our own feelings on the benefits of geotagging and the usefulness of tagged photos from an archive / diary perspective, the newest edition of the app introduces a Photo Maps view. As the name implies, it overlays photos with a map underneath, giving people a far more visual look at what they were seeing at a given point on Earth (or Mars, assuming Curiosity hasn't reached its data limit this month). Beyond that, the app includes "multi-line caption editing, more streamlined photo uploading, speed improvements and infinite scroll," according to our pals at TechCrunch. Interestingly, the Twitter "Find Friends" feature has been yanked in the latest build due to Twitter shutting off its API to the company last month. If you're wondering about a master plan for Photo Maps, it's pretty simple; just as you'd tune into #nbcfail on Twitter to read the latest musings about the Summer Olympics, hovering over London in Instagram could give you a highly filtered look at what kind of photos are emerging from an event in real time. And really, who wouldn't want to see 807 sepia-infused 1:1 shots of Usain Bolt? Per usual, you'll find the demo vid after the break.%Gallery-162629%%Gallery-162631%
Instagram update disables "Find Twitter Friends" feature
A new version of Instagram (free) just arrived this morning, along with the news that the photoblogging tool now has 80 million users. But there's something missing in the update. If you've ever used the "Twitter Friends" feature, you'll be dismayed to find that it's no longer available. As you can see in the screenshot from Instagram at right, Twitter is no longer allowing its users to find friends via the Twitter API. You can still tweet your photos; you just can't tap the "Twitter Friends" button to automatically follow your Twitter friends who also use Instagram. Our sister site TechCrunch reports that the feature is "missing due to API restrictions from Twitter's end, restrictions likely resulting from concerns about Instagram's scale and its strain on data pulls." The feature is still available in other social apps, particularly Foursquare. Alexia Tsotsis at TechCrunch speculates that "this is a competitive move on Twitter's part, a direct attack on Facebook's social graph via limiting access to its recent acquisition (Instagram)." Twitter recently moved to pull tweets off of LinkedIn; whatever the next skirmish in the API battles may be, it's starting to get nasty out there. #next_pages_container { width: 5px; hight: 5px; position: absolute; top: -100px; left: -100px; z-index: 2147483647 !important; }
BlackBerry 10 gets homespun picture editor to reduce Instagram-envy (video)
BlackBerry users who routinely feel left out while friends share retro pictures of coffee and pastries on Instagram will soon have their own BB alternative. Slides released by N4BB reveal that a Scalado-powered photo editing app has been baked into BB10, which is due early next year. The software will let you tweak and enhance your casual snaps, but also offer a carousel of aged filters you can drag onto shots of your own taste-appropriate snack goods. After the break we've got an early hands-on with the app from the folks at Crackberry, which walks you through a non-working prototype.
TIME calls for Instagram pics as Sports Illustrated uses them in print
TIME magazine is looking for Instagram photos to showcase them in a piece on mobile technology. They're looking for a variety of images from daily life. To join the project, add the hashtag #TIMEwireless to Instagram submissions. Make sure you're not infringing on anyone's rights in the process. Instagram photos need to have a caption that include your name, where the image was taken, and a geotag of the location. Sports Illustrated performed the experiment as well, with the results hitting newsstands this week, Mashable reports. In its print piece, it commissioned a photographer to shoot photos with his iPhone 4S at baseball games and spring training sessions.
Instagram updated to outfit Nexus 7 tablets, now likes the taste of Jelly Bean slates
Bummed that Instagram wasn't suited for your shiny new Nexus 7? Well friends, those sorrows are about to come to an end. The photo application has been updated to accommodate the Jelly Bean slate with version 1.1.7. While the software's primary function is viewing the post-filter photography, you'll be able to employ the front-facing shooter for self-portraits and the like. Also included in the update, the option of posting your tablet and smartphone creations to Flickr via the app's share menu. Hit the source link to snag the current version for your 7-inch slate.
Users reporting BBM down, joins Instagram in being less social (update: RIM's on it)
First Netflix, then Instagram, now BBM? We're getting reports along with plenty of Twitter noise that the popular BlackBerry service has headed south. This makes for one heck of an anti-social weekend if you're a photo-sharing, BBM-er for sure. Let us know if you've been affected by the service, in the meantime why not read up on some tech news? We've plenty! Update: We've just received word from RIM itself explaining the situation. Basically, you might experience some hiccups with BBM and web browsing, but everything else should be back to normal. Check out the response below: Today, we experienced a service issue which may have affected some of our customers in certain parts of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Some minor issues relating to browsing and BlackBerry Messenger may still persist, but all other services are operating as normal. We apologize to any customers in these regions who may have been inconvenienced.
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.
Foursquare Connected App platform lets other apps interact with check ins
It turns out Foursquare's massive 5.0 revamp was just the start of the changes, as the location sharing app unveiled a new twist with the launch its Connected Apps platform. Available as a developer preview, it lets the makers of apps like Untappd, Instagram or The Weather Channel connect directly with the Foursquare app. Many apps were already connected via the API, and once users upgrade to the latest version on Android or iOS their checkins pull information from those apps into Foursquare itself. That means they get things like the weather forecast on their first check in of the day from The Weather Channel, see what songs their friends have shared at a particular location via Soundtracking or beer recommendations from Untappd. Developers can get all the info on how it works at the overview, the rest of us can see the list of enabled apps on the official blog post.
Facebook adding 'Like' to Open Graph, will connect the internet in approval
Facebook is bringing its "like" functionality to Open Graph that'll enable developers to add the action to their applications. Press the heart-shaped button and it'll trigger an alert on the site, voicing your approval for your friend's most awesome Instagram snap, amongst other things. As with the desktop version, likes will be collated in your news feed, but only once you've authorized the third-party app to access it.
PicPlz shutting down permanently on July 3rd, all photos to be deleted pre-fireworks
Already prepping to share oodles of horribly blurry and underexposed Independence Day photos via PicPlz? Go ahead and burst your own bubble, bub. The aforesaid photo sharing app / site has decided to throw in the towel, with a brief blurb posted on its site today describing that July 3rd will be its final day of operation. To quote: "On July 3, 2012, picplz will shut down permanently and all photos and data will be deleted. We have provided download links for existing users to save their photos. Thank you for your support of picplz and we apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you." Users are encouraged to login prior to that day in order to download their photos, including those ones of you shooting Instagram and Facebook Camera in the face. Violence isn't cool, but who are we judge how your grieve?
InstaCRT puts all other photo filter apps to shame (video)
To hell with Instagram. Seriously. It's not that we don't understand the appeal of the photo filter standard bearer, it's just that it lacks a cleverness and visceral quality that InstaCRT has in spades. See, rather than simply recreate retro effect with some software trickery, InstaCRT actually uses the aging titular tech to achieve its goals. The concept, while clever, is actually pretty simple: you take a photo on your iPhone using the InstaCRT app, it's then uploaded to the developer where all the magic happens. Your image is displayed on a tiny 1-inch CRT (harvested from an old-school VHS camcorder) in the company's office, a picture of your photo is then taken with a fancy DSLR, and the resulting image is sent back to you. The results are monochrome, loaded with scanlines and just slightly distorted -- offering a sense of physicality that other photo filter apps just can't match. However, as clever as the concept is, it's equally inefficient and, as more people start using the app, the wait between snapping a pic and getting the finished product back, gets longer and longer. (We had to wait almost four minutes for the image above.) Still, we can't help but fall in love with InstaCRT... at least until the next photo filter app hits the market. Don't miss the video after the break, and hit up the source link to buy it now for $1.99 and see how fast we can crash the developer's servers.
Facebook Camera hands-on
Facebook has kept itself rather busy in the last month or so with such tasks as going public and purchasing popular photo-sharing app Instagram, but that doesn't mean it stopped working on other projects in the meantime. This realization is apparent with the launch of Facebook Camera, a photo-centric application that chooses to remain separated from the company's general mobile representation. It's still connected with the social network, of course, but it brings a fresh user interface and some light Photoshop-esque features to the table: filters, cropping, zoom, twist and so on. We had the opportunity to grab the new app and take it for a spin on an iPhone, so check out the gallery and continue below for our first impressions. %Gallery-156116%
