photosharing
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Dropbox adds automatic photo uploads for Windows and Mac, up to 3GB just for using it
Dropbox isn't short of aficionados, but it's undoubtedly lost some of its gleam since Google drove the cloud war into a frenzy. In response, Dropbox's devs have been at the squat rack pumping up their multimedia credentials, recently adding auto photo and video uploads to their Android app and now extending that feature to any camera, tablet, smartphone or SD card via the Mac or Windows utility -- an add-on that was previously beta-only. Access the web interface and you'll see your stills arranged in a handy new Photos page, which displays them as large thumbnails bunched together by month. There's a blunter enticement too: your first auto upload will secure 500MB in extra storage, with subsequent efforts also rewarded up to 3GB. Perhaps that cardboard isn't looking so soggy after all.
Sony to launch PlayMemories Online: 5GB cloud photo-sharing service coming next week (video)
Sony's PlayMemories photo-editing suite has floated around the PlayStation Store for about a month but it will apparently soon be joined by a new photo-sharing service. PCWorld reports that Sony will launch the cloud-based PlayMemories Online with 5GB of free storage in Japan, US, UK, Canada, Germany and France on May 25. Apparently, you'll be able to access those digitized memories through Sony's proprietary software on both PC and Macs, while your photos can also be streamed to Bravia TVs and digital photo frames. The company's WiFi-capable cameras will also get to hook up with the online storage system, while its Android tablets and phones will get their very own app to upload on their own. In an effort to differentiate the service from existing ones like Dropbox, PlayMemories Online will even sync those precious photos with your PSP and PS Vita. Sony will thus ensure you'll never be without at least four screens to show off those shots of your precocious daughter, pug or beachside view. In case you forgot, we've embedded a video from a few months back that should give a better idea of how the system should work -- in a house filled entirely with Sony merchandise.
Instagram and Hipstamatic to announce photo-sharing partnership
Historically, Instagram has been the definition of closed. It's only available on one platform (iOS), and no third-party services were allowed to port content in via an API. According to Fast Company, that's changing today. It's bruited that Instagram will be opening its doors ever-so-slightly to one Hipstamatic, enabling users of the latter to tag their photos with lenses and filters, and then push them into the Instagram universe. It's being likened to Foursquare users pushing their check-in information to Facebook and Twitter, and it's bound to increase the visibility (and revenue) of Hipstamatic. Hopefully it's just the first deal of many to be cut, but on the real -- we're pretty sure an Android version of Instagram should've taken priority over this. Just sayin'.
Adobe Carousel rebranded as Revel, 'additional photography solutions' promised
It's just been a few months since it was announced, but Adobe's Carousel photo service / app has now already seen its first big change. The company announced last night that Adobe Carousel is now known as Adobe Revel, a name that it says is designed to better accommodate "additional photography solutions" and other new functionality it has planned for the platform. Alongside the name change comes version 1.1 of the Revel app, which addresses a number of minor issues, and adds photo sharing with Flickr, as well as the ability to automatically import photos from your iPhone or iPad's Camera Roll.
Daily iPhone app: iRelay!
iRelay! (US$0.99) is an interesting photo sharing app that provides some features that aren't native to the iPhone. Using the app, pictures on your phone can be grouped by collection, activity or person. A link can be posted to the galleries, and that link can be shared over email, text messages, Facebook, Tumblr or Twitter. Photos are sent at full resolution, and you can see the galleries of friends who are also using iRelay. You can send multiple photos at a time, but only via email. iRelay! solves these issues neatly. Storage uses your iCloud allotment, and links expire in 14 days. One thing I've noticed, and I think it is an issue. When I email a link to a gallery it can't be opened on a Mac using Safari or Chrome directly. Instead, the browsers download the link, which can then be double clicked on. That seems a bit of a nuisance. Even right-clicking on the link doesn't do the trick. On an iOS device the link works perfectly, and the gallery appears with an expiration date. iRelay! is a pretty nice solution to getting your pictures out to friends and family in a straightforward way. Not everything is intuitive about using the app, but comprehensive help is built-in and easy to understand. The app is iPhone only and requires iOS5 or greater. Check the gallery for some screen shots. %Gallery-142724%
Skype for Android adds support for sharing photos, video and other files
Just in time to really annoy your family and friends with holiday greetings, Skype for Android has updated to version 2.6, bringing with it support for sharing photos, videos and other files with your contacts. Being able to quickly transfer pics of your gifts and clips of children tearing into meticulously wrapped presents to people on your buddy list is just the most notable change to the VoIP client. Plenty of other tweaks have taken place, even if they're primarily under the hood. For one, video quality has improved specifically on devices running NVIDIA's Tegra 2. A bunch more phones have also been added to the app's whitelist, including Motorola's latest super-phones the Droid RAZR and Droid 4. You can head on over to the Android Market now to get the latest Skype update.
Flickr unveils Android app, introduces real-time Photo Session feature (video)
The Android community may be awaiting its very own Instagram app, but at least Flickr has now stepped up to fill the void. Yesterday, the photo-sharing service unveiled its very first Android app, along with a new social feature known as Photo Session. Available for free on the Android Market, the app allows users to snap, filter and upload their photos directly to Facebook, Twitter or Flickr, all from the comfort of their own handset. It also features an array of camera functions like flash, ratio selection, and shutter focus, along with ten high-quality filters. Photo Session, meanwhile, allows you to browse through images with your friends in real-time. All you have to do is round up your online comrades, start a session and begin flipping through a photostream. Every time you move on to the next image, your friends will, too, effectively turning any browsing affair into a collective, Don Draper-like slide show. For more details, check out the source links below, or trot past the break for a video run-down of Photo Session.
The Engadget Interview: Lala and Color founder Bill Nguyen
Bill Nguyen radiates enthusiasm. It's constant and infectious, and when he attempts to sell you on his latest project, it's hard not to get excited -- this alone seems reason enough to want the guy on your team. Nguyen also has more than his share of experience heading startups -- some have even gone so far as describing the Houston native as a "serial entrepreneur," certainly not a stretch, having founded Onebox.com and Seven Networks early in his career. It was the creation of Lala, however, that really put Nguyen on the map. The service was founded in the mid-'00s, around the concept of CD swapping, users mailing physical discs to one another in little red and white Netflix-like envelopes. The site shifted gears soon after, being reborn as a streaming service. The concept was born from Nguyen's typically utopian vision of free music streaming, in hopes of spurring purchases amongst a dedicated audience -- the actual product, not surprisingly, was far more of a compromise, limiting the streams of users who didn't already have that music stored in their PC. Read our full interview after the break.
Color abandons app independence for Facebook, hopes you'll pay someone a 'visit'
Color launched to a fair amount of fanfare back in March, and it's not surprising, really -- the company was spearheaded by Lala founder Bill Nguyen, with ten of millions in backing from some top venture capital firms. The hype surrounding the photo-sharing app didn't take long to die down, however -- over the past several months, we haven't heard much from the startup. Turns out the Color team was rethinking the project from ground up. The company used f8 this week to launch a new version of the app built entirely around Facebook. The new Color harnesses updates to the social Network's Open Graph protocol to introduce the concept of "visits," a social gesture that prompts a user to request a live video feed from a Facebook friend upon seeing an interesting photo in their feeds on the social network or in the iPhone / Android app. The brief video stream can be attended by multiple users, becoming something of a mini UStream built into Facebook. The new Color is currently in a closed testing phase, though interested parties can sign up to take part below.
Piictu survives Google's Photovine, launches out of public beta
There's been a fair amount of news on the Photovine front recently -- none of it particularly flattering for Google, or its now shuttered Slide branch. But users of the mobile app-based photo service can now continue sharing their pics using Piictu -- a slightly different, yet remarkably similar service that launched well before its Google counterpart. What initially began as a fun side project for co-founder Jon Slimak, Piictu has apparently gained quite a following, prompting its creators to add some polish to the service and push it out of beta. We're not quite sure what to expect for its future, but Google's involvement with its Piictu competitor appears to have helped the original service gain some traction, despite its indy status. Jump past the break for the announcement from Piictu, or hit up our source link to download the iOS app.
Chumby NeTV unfurls its web-connected tentacles for the FCC
FCC appearances are usually a good indication of a product's imminent arrival. And with Chumby's NeTV already headed to developers' hands later this month, this Commission filing isn't exactly catching us off guard. Now, a firm retail date is all that's missing to complete the once huggable platform's official outing. Those unfamiliar with the Flash-based, WiFi-enabled device can look forward to a webified HDTV experience that'll stream online content, as well as texts and photos from your Android phone, to a flat panel display. Sure, there are plenty of other options to bring the net to your livingroom, but how many of them can claim an octopus as their mascot? Check out the source link below if emissions testing and user manuals tickle your fancy.
Chumby NeTV turns any HDTV into a Chumby that's hard to hug (video)
Existing HDTV owners cursing because they don't have a Smart TV will soon catch a break from Chumby. It's developing the NeTV, turning any TV (geddit?) into a giant, unhuggable Chumby that connects in-line between source and TV, overlaying the interface on top of your picture. It ships with a seven button remote, but most people should consider using their Android phones to get the most out of the on-board WebKit browser, seamless photo sharing and notifications that put your SMS messages and emails onto the big screen. Developers are gonna get their mitts on the device later this month, but you can catch a sneak peek after the break [Thanks, Torin]
Panasonic Lumix FX90 point-and-shoot packs built-in WiFi, Android / iPhone app compatibility
For many photographers, in-camera WiFi may be an attractive feature before you leave the store, but confusing setup and limited functionality reduce its appeal once you actually go and try to use it. Panasonic sets out to better take advantage of wireless connectivity with its Lumix FX90, adding Android and iPhone app support for transferring pictures and video directly to a mobile device, then uploading them to Lumix Club -- a cloud-based photo-sharing service -- and on to Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc. You can also share photos directly from the camera -- a dedicated WiFi button launches a menu prompting you to select a sharing service -- but app support brings the added benefit of your phone's data connection. Beyond those new wireless features, the FX90 includes a 12 megapixel CCD sensor, 5x, 24-120mm optical zoom lens, 3-inch touchscreen, and 1080i AVCHD video capture. The FX90 will ship this fall with pricing yet to be announced, but jump past the break for the full rundown from Panasonic in the meantime.%Gallery-131062%
Google's Photovine goes live with its photo sharing app
Photovine is Google's latest iOS app and it's best described as a photo-sharing app with a public twist. Unlike Instagram which lets you share your stylized mobile photos with your friends and followers, Photovine ditches the filters and has a much more public slant. You publish your photo with a theme, caption or category and it becomes a vine. Your vine can be as simple as "photographs of ice cream" to as abstract as "the color orange." Once you create a vine, other people can contribute to that vine and you can watch it grow. Likewise, you can browse other vines and add your own photo. Once your photo is attached to a vine, it becomes public and can be seen on that vine and on your profile. Photovine was developed by Slide, a company Google acquired last August. The app is available for free from the App Store. And yes, it does resemble Piictu. [Via ReadWriteWeb]
Photovine grows out of private beta, begins sprouting on iPhones everywhere
It popped up in private beta earlier this summer, but Slide's Photovine is now open to the public, available as a free download on Apple's iOS App Store. Surprisingly there's no Android app yet -- a curious move considering Google (Slide's parent company) isn't known to exclude its own mobile platform with new product rollouts. Huff Post went hands-on with the app, summing it up as "Instagram meets Piictu," also noting the bizarre exclusion of an option to add your Gmail contacts -- though you can import your friends from Twitter and Facebook. It's probably safe to say that an Android app will be coming soon -- or perhaps some other indication that Google and Slide do in fact share the same roof -- but for now, iPhone owners can slide on down to the source link to get their photo sharing fix.
Did Google's Photovine sprout from Piictu?
"Plant a photo, watch it grow." Photovine's tagline is just as catchy as the concept behind its launch -- a mobile app-based picture sharing service that groups images together using common photo-driven themes. These groupings, called vines, let you connect with strangers while sharing photos of everyday items that you wouldn't otherwise have any interest in photographing. You can have a vine focused on Swingline staplers, or magazine covers, or bottle caps. But as clever as this concept may seem, it's difficult to ignore Piictu, which budded several months before the Google app. It's certainly not uncommon for duplicate services to sprout, all based on the same underlying concept. But Photovine doesn't stop there -- the app's design is also remarkably similar to Piictu, down to page layouts and even main category tabs. For Piictu's "Following" tab, Photovine has "Watching." Piictu's "Latest" section is matched with "Fresh," and Photovine didn't even bother searching for a synonym for "Popular," which you'll find in both apps. Jump past the break for a deeper look, along with statements from the makers of both apps.
Google teases Photovine, slides back into image sharing
Remember when Google acquired Slide way back in 2010? A year after coasting smoothly down the chute into Mountain View, the social gaming company has finally begun to make a splash, launching Prizes (beta) last week, and now teasing Photovine, a social networking app that lets you connect with people through photo-driven themes. You could participate in a vine about your crazy weekend at the lake, join other users in a thread of kitten shots, or share unboxing pics of a new gadget while comparing regional discrepancies with users from around the world. For now, Photovine is little more than an amateurish three-page website with a brief FAQ and a somewhat-hidden reference to Slide and Google, but the service's objective seems to be on-point, and it has potential to attract a diverse group of users. We look forward to watching the vine bud and grow after its yet-to-be-announced public launch, but head over to the source link for a more detailed look in the meantime. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Google trademarks Photovine, hints at new photo-sharing service
Well, it looks like Google's got the online rumor mill churning with its latest trademark application. Back on June 7th, El Goog filed a USPTO application for the name Photovine, sending sparks flying down the, er, grapevine about a possible photo-sharing program. The application cites a service dedicated to the "transmission of visual images and data by telecommunications networks, wireless communication networks, the Internet, information services networks and data networks." Unsurprisingly, it looks like the internet giant's also picked up the corresponding domain name. So is Google getting ready to add photo storage to its recent suite of cloud services? Or is it looking to up its social media cred? And where does Picasa fit into all of this? One things for certain: we won't be responsible for letting this round of speculation whither on the vine.
Facebook prepping a photo-sharing app for the iPhone
Leaked information provided to TechCrunch suggests Facebook is prepping a photo-sharing app for the iPhone. From the description, the app is a mixture of Instagram with some of the location information and social sharing of Path and Color. A few surprises are also supposedly thrown into the mix. The app, of course, is integrated into Facebook and ties into your Facebook account. Right now, it is a standalone app, but these features could eventually make their way into the official Facebook iPhone app. The amount of information available now is just a tease and TechCrunch promises more information will be released soon. Stay tuned.
Piictu puts the fun into iOS picture sharing
What? Another iOS photo sharing app? No, wait, keep reading! The just-released Piictu app (official site, iTunes) has some new tricks to show you. Piictu's big idea is to treat the photos you post not as the traditional timeline view we associate with blogs and apps like Instagram, but rather as a series of conversations, each on a certain theme. Suppose I post a picture of my dogs, Daisy and Jake. Any of my friends who see that -- or anyone on the service as a whole -- can then post a picture reply to that photo, perhaps of their own dogs, or some other pet. Someone else can post another reply, and so on. Piictu groups responses together to encourage an ongoing conversation. The power of this simple idea is perhaps best demonstrated by this photo thread pictured in the second half of this post, where an impromptu multiplayer game of tic-tac-toe took place between several of Piictu's beta testers.
