photo sharing

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Instagram spotted in Windows Phone advertisement, soon to be available? Probably not.

News

By Rich Edmonds, Sunday, Mar 3, 2013 at 12:16 pm

We've had an interesting image sent in from a reader, showing what appears to be an Instagram logo on the home screen of a Lumia 620 being advertised. The promotional material shows the Windows Phone in Portugal listed for 170 euro with a coupled package, but what's interesting about the device is definitely the mysterious use of the Instagram logo. Could this be a sign of what's to come, or is the app being falsely advertised?

Lomogram, a fantastic photo app, passes one million downloads

Apps

By George Ponder, Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 at 4:01 pm

Lomogram is a great photo editing app for your Windows Phone that just passed one million downloads. And it only took the app 219 days to get there.

The Windows Phone photography app gets good reviews over in the Windows Phone Store (4.5 stars) and we thought it was time to take a look at things and see what all the excitement was about. Lomogram is nicely laid out with over forty filters, tons of borders and light effects that can be applied to new photos as well as photos already in your Pictures Hub.

Lomogram is a really nice option for those wanting to add a little zip to their photos and a great addition to you Windows Phone photography library.

Nokia releases PhotoBeamer for Lumia Windows Phone 7.5 devices

By George Ponder, Thursday, Dec 13, 2012 at 2:09 pm

Just a few weeks ago Nokia released PhotoBeamer for Lumia Windows Phone 8 devices such as the Lumia 820 and 920. Today, the photo sharing app has been released for Lumia Windows Phones running Windows Phone 7.5 such as the Lumia 900 and 610.

Photobeamer allows you to display your pictures on PC's or other web-enabled devices. Just run the app, head over to Photobeamer.com, scan the QR code that appears on the screen with your Lumia Windows Phone and your photos will appear on that web-enabled device. It can be a computer, tablet, or a friends phone. You just need a 3G/4G network or WiFi to send the pictures.

Windows Phone App Review: Metro.am

Apps

By George Ponder, Tuesday, Aug 28, 2012 at 8:35 am

While there is not an Instagram app for our Windows Phone, there are a few client apps available. One such is Metro.am.

Metro.am does a good job delivering Instagram content to your Windows Phone but does feel a little lacking. Lacking because of the inability to sign up for an Instagram account or post images to your Instagram account. And it's not the developers fault for overlooking these features. You can blame the Instagram API restrictions.

Windows Phone App Review: SoMee

Apps

By George Ponder, Tuesday, Jul 24, 2012 at 8:58 am

SoMee is a simply yet creative photo editing app for your Windows Phone. SoMee not only lets you crop and apply various filters, effects, and frames to your photos but you can also upload and share your finished products.

SoMee comes in two flavors, free with ads and paid without ads. SoMee isn't a powerhouse photo editor along the lines of Thumba but for what it does, it does it very well.

Windows Phone App Review: Thumbz

Apps

By George Ponder, Thursday, Jun 21, 2012 at 8:36 am

Thumbz is a photo sharing app for your Windows Phone that allows you to... well... share and get feedback on your photos. Once uploaded to the network, other members can vote up, down on your photo as well as leave a comment. You in turn can rate and comment on others photos as well. You can also use Thumbz as a informal public opinion poll if you include a question in the image description.

Thumbz does have a novelty feel to it but it also has the potential to be a decent photo sharing network. It just needs time and to see it's membership continue to grow.

Instagram alternative EyeEm hits the Marketplace

Apps

By George Ponder, Wednesday, Apr 25, 2012 at 2:33 pm

EyeEm is a photo-sharing app, much like Instagram, for your Windows Phone. However, unlike Instagram EyeEm is available for the iPhone, Android devices, through a web portal and on Windows Phone. This gives EyeEm a potentially larger user base than Instagram which means you can find more users with similar photographic interests.

EyeEm allows you apply ten photo filters (or none if you prefer) to existing photos in your Pictures Hub or to photos just captured by your Windows Phone camera. Filters range from sepia to magic to strawberry. From there you can share your images on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, and Tumblr.

Along with capturing, editing and sharing your photos EyeEm lets you browse photos from other EyeEm users. There is a search engine to search for photos or photographers by keyword, an Albums page that highlights random and "liked" photographic subjects (fashion, retro, etc.), and a Popular page that shares... well... the popular images on EyeEm.

From the settings you can create/edit your user profile and manage all your account connections. EyeEm does tap into your location services to help find pictures from users in your area and can tap into your People Hub to identify contacts who are EyeEm users.

Just tinkering with EyeEm for a short time, it comes across as an impressive photo sharing and social app for your Windows Phone. It may be strong enough to make you forget about Instagram.

EyeEm is a free app for your Windows Phone and you can grab it here at the Windows Phone Marketplace.

Thanks everyone for the tip!

Facebook buys Instagram for $1 Billion and increases chances for Windows Phone

News

By Daniel Rubino, Monday, Apr 9, 2012 at 1:35 pm

In a jaw-dropping deal that just took place, social network empire Facebook has bought photo-sharing hipster site Instagram for $1 billion in a combination of cash and Facebook shares.

Instagram as grown to be one of the largest mobile-photo sharing sites on the internet with 27 million users, almost exclusively due to the iPhone. Within the last week, the site finally launched their much anticipated Android client and it quickly shot up to the #1 free app under Social on the platform, showing just how popular it is amongst users. (In a funny blow-back, the über hipsters on iOS are evidently upset their retro-photo garden of Eden is being disrupted by the unruly 'Droid users, with some giving up the service. Yeah.)

However, one thorn in the side of Windows Phone is the fact that the Instagram service is unavailable to our audience. What's more, they evidently won't allow third-party access either, leaving us out in the dark. This deal, however frightening in size, is good news for Microsoft who own a 1.6% share of Facebook with a large investment made back in 2007 (when the young social network really needed the money and support). Even more recently, Bing search now shows up on the log-out page for the site and Bing Translator handles language translation within the network itself.

As a result, we can probably expect not only an Instagram client (assuming one is already not in the works) but a strategic alliance between Facebook and the photo-sharing network, perhaps giving Windows Phone a slight edge in the future. It will be interesting to see what happens, especially since Facebook and Google don't get a long very well.

Source: CNN Money; Additional info via GeekWire, CNN Money and ZDNet

InstaCam is a Windows Phone Instagram client

Apps

By RedNBlack77, Wednesday, Feb 1, 2012 at 10:41 am

InstaCam is a Windows Phone Instagram client that just hit the Marketplace yesterday. It allows you to take pictures on your phone, add different effects, and then share them via Facebook, Twitter or email. You can log into your Instagram account to check "likes" and comments on your uploaded content. You can also view other people's photos and leave comments, or follow them if you're a fan of their work. The search function can find photos based on key words in pictures' tags. Not an Instagram user? No worries, you can still use InstaCam to browse content anonymously.

This first iteration of InstaCam contains a lot of features, including a couple exclusive photo effects. However, there are more features on the way. The developers are already planning on adding geolocation search, view changes, and more.

InstaCam is free and can be downloaded here at the Windows Phone Marketplace.

Thanks, peestandingup, for the tip!

Square sharing app released to the Windows Phone Marketplace

By Rich Edmonds, Friday, Jan 20, 2012 at 10:43 am

We previously took a sneak peek at the app Square (with a quick video demo), developed by Lawrence Gripper (the developer behind the BBC News Mobile app), Chris Sienkiewicz and Dave Crawford. Square is a photo and contact sharing app which uses QR codes allowing for seamless transfers to be carried out between platforms.

One can download Square from the Marketplace for free. Check out (and "like") the Facebook page for more information and updates.

Could Instagram come officially to Windows Phone before Android?

News

By Rich Edmonds, Wednesday, Jan 18, 2012 at 7:40 pm

Although we have wait on the fate of Metrogram, the unofficial Instagram client for Windows Phone announced this past weekend, FastCompany is citing an unnamed source that Microsoft may have worked out a deal with the developers behind Instagram for an official, certified Windows Phone version. For those not familiar, Instagram is a extremely popular photo sharing app with kitsch filters on iOS. Instagram have acknowledged that they're working on an Android version, but now we're learning that Windows Phone may get it first.

Windows Phone boasts Metro UI which has been positively received by most and is a unique experience available on a mobile platform. This, added with the quick camera functionality and consistent quality across hardware, will ensure that an Instagram app would look (and feel) fantastic. Even though Windows Phone is still picking up steam with market share, Android suffers from fragmentation which could have a negative impact on the user experience.

Instagram would be a worthy addition to the Marketplace, a popular app that many smartphone owners on a competitive platform use, and the software giant is looking to spend to get the apps people want.

Source: FastCompany; thanks Lucas for the heads up! For more info on Instagram, check our iMore's coverage.

Sneak Peek: Square sharing app for Windows Phone

By Rich Edmonds, Friday, Jan 13, 2012 at 4:26 pm

Sharing is cool. We all love to share things, whether it be what we're currently up to on Twitter, or by publishing photos to Facebook from our Windows Phone, it walks hand-in-hand with being intrigued by what our friends are up to. Square, by Lawrence Gripper (the developer behind the BBC News Mobile app), Chris Sienkiewicz and Dave Crawford, is a new solution to contact and image sharing between platforms using QR codes. It's a fairly simple concept, but ingeniously executed.

Square will enable the user to grab an image from the Pictures Hub (providing choice of camera roll, SkyDrive or Facebook albums) and share it to another device with a generic QR code scanner. Not only that, but contacts on the Windows Phone can also be shared to another device with a scanner (and support for vCards). If you're one who detests carrying around business cards as much as I, Square also sports a contact card option for yourself (basically choosing "you" from your contact list to import your details), which can be pinned to the home screen for quick access and turns your contact information into a handy QR code (in vCard format).

Of course, the app wouldn't be complete without a scanner. Square comes kitted out with the tools to scan QR codes and import images and contacts. It all works flawlessly, and the UI (although there's not much depth) is simply gorgeous. When will we see Square on the Marketplace? In the next couple of weeks. To see the app in action, head on past the break for a quick demonstration.

MSN Postbox for Windows Phone -- a new photo sharing venture from Microsoft

Apps

By Daniel Rubino, Wednesday, Jul 27, 2011 at 9:19 am

Looks like Microsoft is continuing to explore various new social outlets via the internet, this time it's a new service called "MSN Postbox" (side note: it was earlier speculated by TechCrunch that "Postbox" was a Yelp competitor). What makes this service unique is two fold: it allow you to share photos along with comments to the "community" and two, there's a Windows Phone app now available to help make it easier.

Photos need to be "approved" before they are posted, so don't expect to go hog wild with it. It is a bit confusing as to the purpose, so we'll let Microsoft explain:

"Share your photos with millions of MSN readers directly from your phone with the MSN Postbox app. Also browse other readers’ submissions to see the best of what’s happening all around the United States.

MSN Postbox is a new curated photo-sharing site (part of the MSN.com web portal) that goes beyond your friends to connect with a bigger community about what going in on in your town, your life.

Offer city and people shots, with your captions, as well as photos and tips about restaurants and events. And you can photos immediately after taking them, or share photos you’ve already taken. (After downloading the app, reboot your phone – turn it off and back on – to activate the “share” function for Postbox to your phone’s camera.)"

It's kind of neat but not "OMG that's awesome!" neat. The design is like a combo of Metro and KIN, which makes us wonder if this was an extension of the KIN ecosystem that we never saw flourish, perhaps a left over project? Anways, it's free and the app runs "ok". It is a bit sluggish for our likes, but it looks nice and keeps with the other "MSN" apps e.g. Movies.

You can grab the app here in the Marketplace or go to the website to get a flavor of what it's all about here: http://postbox.msn.com/.

Flick+Share - App Spotlight

Apps

By George Ponder, Friday, May 27, 2011 at 2:20 am

Are you looking for an easy way to share photos on your Windows Phone? Check out Flick+Share from Tufty Time. With a simple flick, you can send a photo from your phone to any around you.

Flick+Share uses your location to send any photo you choose from your phone to people around you. Just tap the library button in the app, choose a photo from your phone's photo galleries and just swipe or flick it to the edge of the screen in the direction of the phone you're sending it to. Or.. you can tap the camera icon in Flick+Share, snap the shot, and then flick it towards the recipient.

Photos received from others Flick+Share users can be saved to your Photo Hub. This is very similar to the Color App for the iPhone and the first of its kind on the Windows Phone 7 platform. Instead of passing your phone around to share photos with friends, you can now flick the photo over to them instead.

Flick+Share is a free application (ad supported) and you can find it here (opens Zune) at the Marketplace.

PhotoShare - App Spotlight

Apps

By George Ponder, Wednesday, May 11, 2011 at 5:13 pm

Limit-Studios is offering Photoshare over at the Windows Phone Marketplace. Billed as the "photo sharing app", Photoshare allows you to take a photo, swap or share it, and recieve photos from other Photoshare users.

Photoshare automatically shares photos taken through the app and you can share photos from other Photo Gallery folders as well. At any time you can delete your shared photos through the About/Support menu (access through the three-dot menu).

Unfortunately there isn't a trial version available for Photoshare with the full version running $1.29. You can find Photoshare here (opens Zune) at the Marketplace.

Bubblegum brings Instagram functionality to Windows Phone and it's a joy

By Daniel Rubino, Thursday, Feb 3, 2011 at 10:08 am

Bubblegum is a new app from two Microsoft employees, Sriram Krishnan (Program Manager for Microsoft’s Windows Azure; also of Browser Plus fame) and Aarthi Ramamurthy (Program Manager for Microsoft’s XNA) which, though we hate to make comparisons, is an Instagram clone. Instagram, for those who don't know, is a very popular photo sharing app/site for the iPhone that allows you share pics with your friends, add effects to the photo and even see it on a map.

While we don't have Instagram on WP7, Bubblegum seeks to fill that gap by offering basically those same features. But with the launch of Flickr for Windows Phone literally on the same day as Bubblegum's, we have to ask, is it necessary? At first blush (and on paper), the answer is no.

But then something happened: we downloaded and tried it. And truth be told, it's an exceptional experience. Smooth transitions, excellent graphics and superb integration with Twitter, Foursqaure and Facebook make it quite compelling and tough to ignore. How it works is you sign up for an account (on the phone, it's very quick) which then logs you in to the network. From there you can add friends (manually search for their name or tap into your Twitter/Facebook contacts). It's that latter part that's really neat: you type in your login info for Facebook or Twitter and it finds just those contacts who are also on Bubblegum (for me it was Manan and Microsoft's Charlie Kindel)--you can then follow them to see their photo uploads in your stream. As for effects, you have Black&White, Woodstock, Frosty, Grunge, Tilt Shift, Cyano, Aurora, History (sepia), Betty (it's better than butter).

The whole thing is like Twitter but without the drama. It's focused on the visual instead of the text.

Oh and there's a Yoda quote in there, which totally wins nerd points. The two developers responsible are a husband and wife team who have a geeky sense of humor and it just gives this app feeling of fun. Sure, in our social-networked lives with 900 services, it's not clear we need another, but Bubblegum at least makes the argument for one more. The app is free in the Marketplace here and we urge you to just take it for a spin--it could be our own homespun next-big-thing on Windows Phone.

ps I'm listed as "malatesta" on there.

via: @ckindel; additional info: MobileCrunch

Imgur Photo Uploader app makes picture sharing easy

Apps

By Daniel Rubino, Thursday, Dec 30, 2010 at 3:51 am

For those who like to share pics with their Windows Phone, you have your MMS, Facebook, SkyDrive and...well, email we suppose. But most of those involve direct sharing of the photo as oppose to giving a link out which would allow you to share the single photo multiple times over different protocols at varying times.

Imgur (pronounced image-er) is a popular and free photo sharing site, used heavily with Reddit users (see Alien News for WP7) and is known for its sharp, minimalist design and anonymity (it strips photo meta-data off automatically). Developer John Sprunger has made a free app, appropriately called Imgur Photo Uploader which not only allows you to upload any pic on your phone, but share the photo link with numerous sites including: Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, DIGG, email, and SMS. Imgur links are short and concise e.g. http://imgur.com/WsCdz.jpg making them ideal for sharing. Plus it saves your uploads for later use, right on the device.

Hey, for free, it can't be beat and works very well. Plus, as you could tell, we dig imgur a lot (it was created by one guy) and highly recommend both. Grab Imgur Photo Uploader here.

Photogram - Review

Apps

By George Ponder, Tuesday, Dec 28, 2010 at 8:14 pm

We've taken a look at several photography apps. From those that simply applies effects to your images such as PhotoMagic to the apps that gives you more editing controls such as Thumba. Only Samsung Focus and Omnia 7 owners have access to an in-house photography application that falls in line with the former. All other deivces, sorry!

Photogram allows you to apply six special effects to new and existing photos as well as create a collage of images. What you create can then be shared via a handful of social and photography websites.

It's a free application and to read more about Photogram and to see examples, follow the break.