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Vine update brings new tools and channels, videos still six seconds long
Vine's offering up the latest update to the iOS version of the video sharing app. Nope, it's not an Instagram-inspired lengthening. Instead, version 1.3 brings a handful of new tools to the micro-video service, assuring that you make the best six second film possible, including grid, focus and ghost. The app's also adding 15 new content channels like music, nature and comedy, each of which has its own distinct theme and Popular feed. Revining, meanwhile, makes it easier to share friends' videos and On The Rise, shows you up and coming Viners. Also new is protected posts, so you don't have to let the whole world in on your video brilliance, if you're the shy sort.
Vine graces Amazon Appstore, gives Kindle Fire HD's front-facing cam a workout
Sure, the Kindle Fire HD may only have a front-facing camera, but its solitary shooter is about to start flexing more than its video chat muscles. Vine has just arrived on Amazon's Appstore, and it's ready for owners to download and churn out as many six-second video clips as they please. Hit the source link below to grab version 1.2 of the free app.
Vine for Android gets front camera support, upload manager
Twitter is certainly making up for lost time on Android -- just a few days after it upgraded Vine to address some early omissions, it's back with another round of improvements for the Google-inclined. The just-posted Vine 1.2 update for Android brings front camera access for those inevitable selfie videos. It also brings an upload manager for backlogged clips, settings tweaks and a fresh wave of performance boosts. The new version may not lure back Android users who've switched allegiance to Instagram, but those who still prefer Twitter's approach can grab Vine 1.2 at Google Play.
Instagram update an insta-success
Instagram late last week rolled out an app update that enables users to upload video in 15-second snippets. As you might expect, users can choose from up to thirteen distinct filters to apply to their video. So how did Instagram's photo-loving user base take to the app's new functionality? While there were inevitably some detractors who derided Instagram for expanding beyond its core functionality, the new feature thus far seems to be a rousing and unmitigated success. Speaking to CNET, Instagram said that users uploaded 5 million videos in the first 24 hours since the updated app became available. At peak, Instagram users uploaded 40 hours of video per minute. The climactic moment came Thursday night as the Miami Heat defeated the San Antonio Spurs during the NBA Finals, the representative said. The initial numbers suggest that Instagram can bring video sharing to the masses, which historically has proved a difficult task for other app makers. In getting the word out regarding Instagram's new video feature, Instagram got a little bit of help from NBA star Kobe Bryant who uploaded an Instagram video showing his first steps without a boot since tearing his Achilles tendon last April. Say what you will about Facebook -- which bought Instagram for $1 billion in April of 2012 -- but the company is particularly aware of and responsive to the latest trends in mobile. When Snapchat began to take off in popularity, Facebook released a Snapchat clone dubbed Facebook Poke. In a similar vein, the success of Vine has not been lost on Facebook and the result is a revamped version of Instagram. You can check out the updated Instagram app on iTunes over here.
Vine for Android adds Facebook sharing, searches for hashtags and users
Twitter isn't about to let Video on Instagram go completely unanswered -- it just posted an update to Vine for Android that could offer a few reasons to stay with the earlier service. Short-form movie makers on Android now have more of the features we've seen on iOS, including Facebook sharing as well as searches for hashtags and users. The release also smooths out the rough experience that has characterized the Android experience since launch, boosting both capture speeds and the final video quality. The app may still fall short of the newer Instagram release in a few areas, but those who prefer Vine's approach can grab its refresh at Google Play.
Instagram 4.0 for iPhone out with video support
Instagram has announced the biggest update to their service since its launch in 2010; the addition of video. The move is directly targeting Twitter's Vine app by introducing longer videos than Vine allows directly in a feed that millions of users are checking every day. Instagram's videos can be up to 15 seconds in length while Vine still tops out out six seconds. In addition Instagram video comes with 13 video filters so users can make their HD cell phone cameras look like '80s VHS tape to match their '70s filtered breakfast shots. Also, videos won't loop like they do in Vine. For some micro filmmakers Vine's loop as has been an inspirational artistic tool. It will be interesting to see if Instagram allows such a feature to be turned on in the future. There's one feature that's specifically worth singling out, one that could improve mobile video all around even if it's in 15 second chunks right now. Instagram is introducing what they're calling Cinema, a video-stabilization feature that removes the slight shaking that comes from holding your cell phone while pressing a button the screen. It's impressive tech that we can't wait to play around with. Just think of the clarity on cat videos. The standard features you've come to expect from Instagram also apply to videos, including tagging friends, native Facebook posting and hashtags. Instagram's main advantage in the micro-video war is having a website where users can easily go and look at their friend's collection. Vine is still sorely lacking even the most basic webpage for people to find their friend's videos. This limitation is going to become clearer now that Instagram has entered the field. Instagram 4.0 hits the iOS store today as a free update. Don't worry Android users, you get the update today as well. You can watch the announcement video below. Introducing Video on Instagram from Instagram on Vimeo.
Vine gets an unofficial talent agency, helps you profit from six seconds of fame
Believe it or not, it's possible to to be a star within the six seconds of a Vine video -- just ask the likes of Riff Raff or Will Sasso, whose Vines are nearly as popular as their usual work. Social media guru Gary Vaynerchuk is starting up a talent agency, Grape Story, to make sure those celebs are getting paid in more than just likes. While Vaynerchuk isn't naming initial clients beyond co-founder Jerome Jarre, he expects the agency to be profitable enough that a wildly popular Vine user could make a living from posting 20 clips a year. There's also no word on when the agency will be open for business, although it already has a partnership lined up with Virgin Mobile. Just don't expect a rush toward Instagram videos -- for now, Grape Story is focused on the more established platform.
Vine 1.1.3 update adds a share button
A new update has been released for the popular social video app Vine that adds a sharing button beneath posts in your feed, along with the standard bug fixes that come with every update. Sharing is a nice touch that the app has been sorely lacking since its launch. When you hit share, you're given a list of options: Twitter, Facebook or embed. When you share your own videos, the link is sent directly to the feed of your choice with no option to insert a personal message. The Vine is simply shared with the text you attached to it. However, when you share a friend's Vine you're given the option of attaching your own text to the repost, so you can tag friends... or perhaps enemies. You can find the Vine version 1.1.3 in the App Store right now.
TechCrunch: Instagram getting Vine-like video at Facebook's June 20th event
TechCrunch is reporting that Facebook is adding video capability to Instagram, which will be announced at the former's press event on June 20th. According to The Desk, the videos would last between five and 10 seconds, but there's no word on if the photo-sharing app's litany of filters would feature in the new service. Presumably the move has come in response to Vine's popularity as Facebook and Twitter square off against each other -- a fight which would make Blu-Ray vs. HD-DVD look like playground squabbling by comparison.
Hotline Miami 2 is in demand, we heard it through these great Vines
Hotline Miami 2 made a surprise appearance at E3, tucked away in an Airstream trailer provided by publisher Devolver Digital. We saw it, but we're not allowed to talk about it until next week. It's getting plenty of attention on its own already – the official Hotline Miami Twitter account retweeted a series of Vines of people reading our Hotline Miami 2 post and literally throwing money at their screens and performing other acts of excitement. At least, we're pretty sure donning a horse-head mask and wielding a pistol is an act of excitement. "Please make this @Joystiq article viewing thing a meme, internet," Hotline Miami tweeted. "Love you." Check out a few fans expressing emotions about Hotline Miami 2 in the Vines below, and submit your own reaction to this post to @HotlineMiami.
Twitter launches #FollowMe: highlight reels based on tweets, photos and Vines
It's common for Twitter regulars to get a stream of new followers, but it's not always clear why they should follow back -- how do you summarize a person's post history in a few seconds? Twitter wants to solve this by launching its #FollowMe tool. The service uses Vizify to build a short, HTML5-based highlight clip from a person's followers, photos, tweets and Vine videos. Most of the legwork is automatic; users only have to edit the clip if they want to fine-tune the results, and any tweet with the relevant link will show the animation in-line. The #FollowMe rollout won't guarantee any additional popularity in the Twittersphere, but it should at least make for a stronger sales pitch.
Vine finally arrives on Android
Better late than never, right? It's already become its own verb for plenty of iOS users looking to shoot the next hot six second video, and now Twitter's service is finally making its way to Android users running 4.0 or higher. Vine's hitting Google's operating system roughly four months after arriving on Apple's mobile OS, bringing with it the familiar video creation and social networking features, as well as a new zoom enhancement that's coming first to Android. Twitter's promising further updates to help get it up to speed with the iOS version, including hashtags, mentions, search, Facebook sharing and the ever-important use of a front-facing camera. In the meantime you can download the current version now from Google Play, or click the source link below to find out more.
More unfinished business: Cavanagh's vectorized tongues and the RPG that doesn't exist
This is the second half of a two-part series chronicling the unfinished works of seasoned indie developer Terry Cavanagh. For the first half, click all up on this. Terry Cavanagh's next confessionary Vine of unfinished projects started with a psychedelic look at his most recently abandoned idea, a first-person exploration game. "The idea was that'd be some way to manipulate your position in the game and access areas that were outside the game world; procedurally generated noise places of some sort," Cavanagh told us. "I liked the idea of randomly filling a world with information and abilities and letting the player figure it out by just poking around in areas I hadn't specifically designed for them – making a genuine playable minus world. Anyway, I was working on this before GDC, and when I was there I saw another game that was basically doing the same thing but better, so I scrapped my game. It happens, no big deal."
Daily Update for April 30, 2013
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
Vine 1.1 update enables the front-facing camera and user mentions
Vine, the micro-filmmaking cousin of Twitter, has just been updated to version 1.1 with a few important new features. The biggest addition is the ability to use the front-facing camera on your iPhone, making it easier than ever to switch angles on the fly. No longer will you have to restart filming a video because you were trying to film your own face and accidentally aimed over your shoulder. Version 1.1 also brings user mentions to posts, similar to how you add friends on Twitter. Simply add an @ -- either manually or via the new "mention" button -- and type in their name like you would in Twitter. People search has been improved as well, adding the ability to look up other users by their Twitter handles. The new app is available for download right now. In the interest of science I tested the new forward-facing camera feature while writing this post. Here is the result:
Vine update brings support for front-facing camera, mentions
Couple of key updates for the 1.1 version of Twitter's pithy video app, Vine. First up is support for front-facing cameras, for those who can't get enough short web videos of themselves. Tap the icon in the lower-left corner of the app and it will toggle between your phone's cameras. Also new is mention support, so those tagged with an @ will get a notification when you drop their names into a post. The latest version is available now from iTunes -- perhaps a short video of you downloading the update is in order.
Vine tops the free app list in the US App Store
Twitter's Vine app has only been available since late January of 2013, but it's already become a favorite app for folks who love shooting, editing and sharing six-second videos of just about everything. Yesterday, Vine reached the number one spot of the US App Store for free apps, causing Vine app Creative Director and Co-founder Rus Yusupov (@rus) to engage in a little Twitter hyperbole (above). Who knows? The way Vine's popularity has been growing steadily since its initial release, perhaps Yusupov will soon be correct in saying that it's the "No. 1 most popular app in the world." The app integrates well with Twitter so shared videos show up frequently in the tweet timeline -- it's a perfect way to market Vine without spending a dime. Yesterday TUAW reported on Vine Flip, an "analog" version of Vine consisting of flipbooks printed from Vine movies. I'm personally waiting for a compilation of TUAW editor-in-chief Victor Agreda's (@superpixel) internationally acclaimed "Angry Finger" Vine videos, but there's no word yet on when that may make it to a theater near you.
Daily Update for April 8, 2013
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
Vine Flip takes your Vine videos analog
Twitter's free Vine app has been around for about two months, capturing six-second videos for sharing with the rest of the world. Now there's Vine Flip, a service that wants you to get offline and go analog with your brief masterpieces. Vine Flip does this by converting your videos into paper flipbooks. Vine Flip is simple: you sign up for the service and then enter the URL for your Vine video on Vine Flip in your favorite browser. To get that URL, just tap the share button in the Vine app, then tap "Embed" and email the URL to yourself -- you'll have to remove the "/embed" portion. Click continue in Vine Flip, and you should see your Vine movie playing. Next you get to pick one of three covers, and then choose how many flipbooks you want. The service charges US$10 for a pair of flipbooks, $24 for a 5-pack, $45 for 10 or $85 for 20. Within days, the flipbooks are delivered to you for flippin' fun! While the pricing's a little steep for everyday use, these flipbooks could be fun for party favors or gifts. Can you imagine being a wedding guest and getting a flipbook of the bride and groom doing something idiotic? Vine Flip looks like a fun way to get hands-on with digital video.
Vine enables video embeds, keeps web viewers in the loop
Vine video posts have had an ephemeral quality when there's been few ways to show them off outside of catching a web link the moment it appears. There's a better way to make those six seconds last an eternity now that the Twitter-run service offers support for embedding its loops on the web. As long as you have access to an existing web link or share a clip through an updated iOS app, you can get HTML code to embed a video in two styles and three different sizes. While it's not quite the expanded platform support that some are hoping for, embedded viewing does make it easier to see what Vine is about -- and potentially delight (or annoy) blog readers who'd have otherwise missed your ultra-short movie projects.
