REMINISCE LOCK SCREEN PHOTOS - Android App Review

REMINISCE LOCK SCREEN PHOTOS - Android App Review

REMINISCE LOCK SCREEN PHOTOS - Android App Review. There is a big secret out there, a terrible secret everyone knows but no one dares to admit. We have TOO MANY PICTURES! Everyone has a smartphone these days, and takes pics of his or her spouse, the kids, the grand-kids, ducks in a pond, interesting cloud formations, beautiful architecture and cats (of course!). So what's the end result? We have so many pics we don't know what to do with!

Yeah sure, once in a while we go through several of our pics. Once in a great while we even change the homepage background pics. But the VAST MAJORITY of our pics just stay there, unused, unopened, unlooked at. In other words, we don't get to enjoy those pics we invested so much time taking. This is a universal truth, sad as it is.  

So, here came Reve Technlogies with a novel idea. With their Reminisce App, they would display photos directly on our lock screen. Simple, isn't it? But does it work and did our reviewers like it?

Our reviewers were more than happy to try out Reminisce and their reports came in fairly quickly.

Sometimes apps have ridiculously long or complicated setup and installing procedures but Reminisce's was easy and simple. Just downloading it, setting up the gallery, Instagram and Facebook as picture sources and that's it. We're ready to go.

The real interesting thing came next over a period of several days or weeks. We started getting reports from more and more of our reviewers that not only they loved the app, but it also reminded them of events long past and things that happened long ago as Reminisce displayed old photos taken years ago. Most of our reviewers were really happy with that, seeing their old photos and remembering things from the past. Which is really what Reminisce is all about.

Now, our reviewers did have several suggestions to make, tips to make working with Reminisce better. First and foremost is a suggestion to make a quick pass through your picture sources and clean out those you don't really want to appear on your lockscreen, if its a funny selfie with a strange face or a really saucy thong bikini from your days tanning topless at the beach. 

The second tip is to be ready for some trips down memory lane, because all of our reviewers assured us this WILL happen when pictures from years ago would start appearing. This was the most fun and exciting thing about Reminisce. 

Our conclusion is that Reminisce is a GREAT idea that should have been implemented years ago and it is the single thing that really lets you use and preview your old photos and history in a fun and simple way.

We have inside information that Picasa will be added as a photo source in an update that will go online in a week or so, making this app even better.

• Score: 4.7. It would get a perfect 5.0 in the near future when passwords, face recognition and biometric functions are added in the future updates.
• Description: A lock screen app that displays pictures from three selectable picture sources, facebook, instagram and your smartphone's own picture gallery.
• Good Points: Great idea. Very simple interface. Very stable with almost no hitches..
• Bad Points: We would have liked to have more picture sources such as cloud picture gallery and the ability to select specific folders to be displayed although Picasa will be added in the near future as a photo source.
• Experience: Our reviewers had no problem installing and running Reminisce, and they started enjoying the app immediately.
• Longevity: Long. Almost no one wanted to uninstall it after understanding what this app did.
• Google Play Link  
• Google Play Score: 5.0

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Color Capture & Identifier - Android App Review

Color Capture & Identifier - Android App Review

Color Capture & Identifier - Android App Review. This app has the very useful function of detecting and identifying colors using the smartphone's camera. All you need to do is aim and click and all the information you need is immediately displayed, ready to use. 

But why do you need this app? Well, our reviewers found out the uses are many and varied. Of course, if you're a professional or even amateur artist, this app lets you use any color you see, from the color of a red, ripe apple to the faded color of old, worn out concrete. Even for photo editing, this app will let you use the colors you find and like right in your creations. And last but definately not least, our reviewers with kids found this app invaluable, letting the children point and click at colors and then produce paintings and works of art with those colors. Interior decorators and people having a house makeover will not be able to put this app down.

But, does the app deliver all that it promises to? 

The app is simple to activate. Just run it, aim at the object whose color took your fancy, make sure the target reticle is exactly centered and presto, the color is yours. Color Capture & Identifier displays a host of info about any color identified, including it's recognized name (for all you people out there redecorating) and it's RGB, CMYK and a host of other color coding protocols.  

Another great feature Color Capture & Identifier has is favorite color bookmarks. Are you a home decorator or interior designer who wants to know if the tiles that just got in are the color you ordered it? No problem, just point and click. Do you have your favorite color palette painstakingly gathered over time to use in your art or photo editing? Just use the bookmarked colors.

All our reviewers found the app real easy to use, with simple screens and menus that combine that oh so elusive feature of displaying the right amount of info in a screen that is at the same time easy to use and does not confuse or frighten users away (you know how squeamish some of those artists can be ..).

 

 

So, what are the app's disadvantages? Actually, we didn't really found anything wrong with it.This app is very stable and does exactly what it says it does, displaying information in a very simple and easy to use way.

Our conclusion is the Color Capture & Identifier is a very solid app, has a lot of useful features from the favorite color bookmarks to the info and finding the closest named color that matches the one shown. We liked it!
 

• Score: 5.0. Very easy to use, simple and shows exactly what we want to know.
• Description: A color identification and naming app. This app can identify a color through the camera, give us all the info about it and even give us the named color closest to it.
• Good Points: Easy to use and master. Named color. Favorite color bookmarks. A lot of color information.
• Bad Points: None, really. Perhaps if it had a photo editing feature this app would have been even better but that's for another update...
• Experience: Our reviewers liked it because it's very easy to use. Just install, run it, aim the camera and click away to get the color info you want.   
• Longevity: All our reviewers who needed color info, from parents to interior decorators to artists are definitely going to keep this app installed. Even those who aren't professional artist found it useful because they do photo editing and the like. 
• Google Play Link - Color Capture & Identifier - Android App Review
• Google Play Score: 4.5

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Smartphone Photography Tips and Tricks - Android Tips and Tricks

Smartphone Photography Tips and Tricks - Android Tips and Tricks

 

One of the most important features of smartphones is their camera. The uses one can put to a camera that is always available and is always carried are many and varied. Taking pics of  the kids, the family, a road accident you were unhappily witness to or even participated, photocopying documents and even taking a picture of someone and then running an Internet search on the picture to learn everything about him / she / it ...

But there are several differences between reflex cameras and smartphone cameras and one must be aware of several things to take good pics. These tips are not really just for Android smartphones but most are applicable to iPhones and even digital and reflex cameras.

When taking a picture, don't move. This simple tip is often overlooked by many. Smartphones usually need a fraction of a second to get their autofocus calibrated and another fraction to take the picture itself. To take a good picture, don't move before taking the picture and a full second after you hear the clicking sound.

Autofocus on most smartphones works by zeroing in on differences in the object being photographed, on the details. If you see the autofocus does not work (some smartphones display this as a red rectangle), move the center of the image to another object within the same distance, press the camera button, wait for the autofocus symbol to turn green, move the picture center to what you need to photograph and remove your finger.

Most smartphones and Android OS versions have an electronic zoom function of x4. Be aware that this is electronic zoom and do not expect the picture to be the same as optical zoom. You will lose contrast and details and it is MORE important not to move when taking the picture. Anyway, try to avoid taking picture of distant objects. Smartphones just don't handle it as good as reflex cameras.

Make sure whatever you need to photograph is well lit. Yes, new smartphones have flashes and the ability to take low light pictures but longer exposure times will make the picture blurry unless you have rock steady hands. If possible, turn on the lights and then take the pic. It will turn out better.

The default Android camera apps for smartphones have a lot of options. Make sure you select the correct one for the picture you're about to take. Is it a close up of a flower? Use macro. Taking a picture of your wife? Use face recognition mode. Your kids move around a lot instead of posing? Take the time to select fast or sport picture mode. 

Don't forget to take advantage of the many possibilities offered by taking a picture with a smartphone. Since you have the whole Google Play apps at your disposal, don't forget you can download camera apps that have built in filters and can instantly create a picture with items, text box, various filters such as MomentCam that can create instant cartoon pics.  

Last but not least, make sure the picture size created is compatible with your available space on your smartphone and if necessary, expand the storage through external SD cards.

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MomentCam 魔漫相机 - Android App Review

  MomentCam 魔漫相机 - Android App Review

MomentCam 魔漫相机 - Android App Review . A very interesting camera app that transforms pics of people into stylized cartoons. The newest version of MomentCam (in English!) can access images from your SD card, transform them into several types of cartoons with limited editing capabilities and let's you share your newly created cartoon images on Facebook and Twitter.

With a simple interface, a very stable app and a nice collection of templates and designs, MomentCam does exactly what it said it would do - turn pictures into funny and cute cartoons with minimal user input and no fuss. Out of the cartoon making apps on Google Play, MomentCam is one of the easiest to use and give some of the best results we've seen so far.

MomentCam 魔漫相机 - Android App Review



Most of our reviewers loved MomentCam. Producing cartoons is  very easy, even for the non technical people and the results are usually fun and interesting. Creating cartoons and anime type images from existing pictures gives great results. 



MomentCam 魔漫相机 - Android App Review

Of course, there are a few problems. Some of the reviewers would have wanted more colors and cartoons options while others would have preferred other designs that do not mate a large head to a small body. We understand this is a cartoon, but still, other types of cartoons exist.

Others would have preferred to have more options for editing faces, since this app DOES concentrate on the face. A few remarks they would have liked to be able to add more faces to a cartoon, like a couple in love designs or similar templates ...

MomentCam 魔漫相机 - Android App Review  cartoon





• Score: A 4.5. The app does exactly what it's supposed to but we would have liked to have a few more options in it ...
• Description: A cartoon creation app that lets you create a cartoon by combining the image of a face with a predefined template. 
• Good Points: Simple interface. Good, interesting (and funny) results.
• Bad Points: A few bugs, hopefully fixed in current versions, like the inability to create more than ten cartoons (in a few cases) or the inability to edit images from the SD card (happened to a reviewer or two). Not a lot of editing tools and not a lot of cartoon templates to choose from.
• Experience: The time from installing to first successful use is very short - everyone learnt to use it pretty fast and then images of cartoons flew all over the place. 
• Longevity: about one month to several months of heavy use and then only occasionally since currently the number of cartoon templates is pretty limited. Most reviewers left the app installed and then used it only occasionally after the first review period.
• Google Play Link - MomentCam 魔漫相机 - Android App Review
• Google Play Score: 4.2

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Android App Manual and Help - 9 Essential Apps for Every Smartphone

Android App Manual and Help - 9 Essential Apps for Every Smartphone

 

Android App Manual and Help - 9 Essential Apps for Every Smartphone. This is a quick manual that grouped together all those apps that everyone needs installed on their smartphone to make it really a useful tool and take advantage of the great app and smartphone revolution of the twenty first century.

Gathered here are the free apps no one can do without - Navigation, messenger, data plan watcher, camera and photo editing, calendar and schedule management, booking and accommodations, flashlight, free calls over the Internet and one game.

These are the essential. After installing those, go look for other apps ...

• Navigation App - Waze Social GPS Maps & Traffic
• Messenger App, Chat and Voice Messages - WhatsApp Messenger
• Data Plan Watcher App - 3G Watchdog by Richard Gruet 
• Camera and Photo Editing App - LINE camera by LINE Corporation 
• Calendar App - Business Calendar Free by Appgenix Software
• Booking, accommodations and travel App - Booking.com - 330,000+ hotels 
• Flashlight App - Tiny Flashlight + LED 
• Free Calls App - LINE: Free Calls & Messages by Line Corporation 
• Game (For those idle times ...) App - Destroy Gunners ZZ by GREE

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Android App Review - LINE camera by LINE Corporation

Android App Review - LINE camera by LINE Corporation

Android App Review -  LINE camera by LINE Corporation. This is a camera and photo editing app that allows the user to edit the photos taken by the app (or other camera apps, for that matter) and edit them by adding framers, stickers, text and graphics from a large collection of predefined objects. A very popular app, the user can share images created, enhanced and edited by the app to facebook and other social networks. Of course, the app has many useful features and many users (including some of our testers) have actually replaced their stock image taking app with this app, using it in preference to the native camera app. A fun app, and one that our testers profoundly loved.

 

• Score: 4.5. Just short a few features from a perfect 5, nevertheless we loved it!
• Description: An image taking and editing app, the Line Camera allows taking pics and editing them, passing them through filters and adding stamps, text and fun graphics objects from a large predefined collection.
• Good Points: Pictures taken with Line Camera are sometimes even better than those taken by the Android native camera app. Editing and filtering pics is mostly easy and adding graphics to an image is also fairly easy.
• Bad Points: There were a few rare cases where the app froze, even forcing us to shutdown and restart the smartphone. We would have enjoyed an even larger variety of graphical objects to add to pictures and some of our testers thought that the app's ram requirements and processing time were too long between images. And of course, we're waiting to be able to add the same effects to videos and not just photos ...
• Experience: Installing and working with the app was easy and fun. A few testers reported some problems after an update but they sorted themselves out. It seems most of our testers loved this app more than other apps (like Camera360 Ultimate) but it mostly comes down to individual preferences.
• Longevity: Most of the testers would keep using this app, a few even started using it in lieu of their native Android camera app. One thought it slowed down his smartphone and uninstalled it after the testing period.
• Google Play Link - LINE camera by LINE Corporation
• Google Play Score: 4.5

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Android App Review - Cymera - Camera & Photo Editor by SK Communications

Android App Review - Cymera - Camera and Photo Editor by SK Communications

Android App Review -  Cymera - Camera and Photo Editor by SK Communications. This is a semi professional camera and photo editing app, specializing in portraits and face editing in photos. The app has its own facial recognition software which identifies the face and then offers the user a rich variety of editing tools to enhance, change and edit the face, from changing eye colors to changing hair styles and applying make up and "beautifying" effects to faces. A very cool app, it also offers several kinds of filters and a large variety of graphical objects that can be easily incorporated into the photo. Last but not least, it also offers collage building services, to create a large collage of photos.

Our testers mostly loved the interface and learning how to apply the various effects was fairly easy, even for those testers who weren't especially computer savvy. Yet again, with a little work you can create great effects, especially with faces. Facebook fans would find this app very handy as its interface allows quick and painless Facebook sharing of photos.

There's no doubt this is one of the best camera and photo editors for the Android today, with its editing capabilities coming just short of professional editing abilities but with the ability to open the app, take a picture, edit it and post it remarkably quickly.

• Score: 4.5 out of 5. Most of our testers enjoyed it immensely.
• Description: A camera app and photo editing app, this app has extensive photo editing capabilities to enhance and change faces, adding makeup, changing hair styles and rearranging faces to make them more "beautiful". In addition to filters and photo enhancing modes, this app also has the ability to add graphical objects from a large library to any photo and the user can also download for free additional effects and objects for adding to pics.
• Good Points: Different lenses and editing effects providing great pictures and diverse editing abilities for the face. Beautifying capabilities to add makeup, change hair styles and bring out the beauty in faces on the photos.
• Bad Points: Text editing - adding text to pictures is not intuitive and is a bit hard to find. The app appeals strongly to Facebook users who upload photos regularly - people who're not heavy Facebook users may find the interface a bit clumsy. There were some minor issues with some of our testers who couldn't turn the flash on for taking pictures or others that complained the pictures come out horizontal and stretched instead of vertical. 
• Experience: To be honest, some of our testers started examining Cymera Camera after working some time with Line Camera. Nevertheless, most of them were quite enthusiastic about Cymera. Most cited the face beautifying effects as one of the best features of Cymera. There were some small problems wtih taking pictures and editing HD photos but those were quickly remedied. In conclusion, the more a person uploads photos to Facebook, the more he or she love Cymera Camera more, at least in our experience. In our words, our teen testers loved it the most. 
• Longevity: All testers kept the app installed even a few months after started working with it. The ones who liked it most were the Facebook heavy users but none uninstalled it. We expect the Facebook users to keep the app for good ...
• Google Play Link - Cymera - Camera & Photo Editor by SK Communications
• Google Play Score: 4.5

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Android App Review - Pic Collage by Cardinal Blue Software

Android App Review - Pic Collage by Cardinal Blue Software

Android App Review -  Pic Collage by Cardinal Blue Software. This is a collage building app that places its emphasis on simple and intuitive interface. With just a few touches you can pick photos from the smartphone's photo gallery or the internet, retouch them, collect them together and add frames, stickers text and many other effects. If you stick to the frames and stickers available, you can create awesome collages simply and easily, of any size and with many effects.

Put pictures in heart shaped frames, combine many sizes together, create cartoon like collages - almost everything is possible with Pic Collage. Just add the pictures, pick backgrounds, add frames and graphical objects and you're set. Really simple and easy. All of our testers liked this app, which is really one of the best collage makers we tested. The only caveat is the app's simplicity. For the serious photo editing user, this app will not suffice. 

However, to create great collages simply and effectively, this app is among the best of its kind. Just tap the photos, pick a background, arrange the photos and you're all set to go. Just don't try to do too complicated things.

• Score: A conditional 4.5 out of 5. A very good, simple to use and fun app for those who want a fast and simple photo editing and collage making up.
• Description: A collage creation app with simple photo editing capabilities  Users can simply and easily pick photos for a collage, use a large variety of frames, crop and resize images to any size and add fun graphical objects atop the images.
• Good Points: Very simple to use. Allows quick and simple photo editing and collage building. Has a lot of graphical objects that can be added and more can be freely downloaded. Has a large number of good and interesting frames and backgrounds for the collage building. There were very few if any bugs detected. It is a very stable app and only once or twice we discovered a problem in editing a number of photos starting from the fifth or so.
• Bad Points: Simplicity is the main thing for Pic Collage so some of the options available in other pic editing apps are missing, such as picture enhancements  transparent text and sophisticated filters. Of course, it is not a camera app which some would have preferred  Some of our testers thought the photo limit of 15 pics was too restricting while others thought the app's space requirement from the smartphone was excessive. Some of the stickers were lost between app updates which irritated testers that were used to using them.
• Experience: In our experience, it takes about one hour to really start using the neat features this app has to offer. In other words, users can learn to use it very fast as it has a very simple and intuitive interface. Only after a few days of working with it, a few of our testers expressed a desire for more sophisticated capabilities.
• Longevity: Most of our testers loved this app and would continue using it. Only a very few who wanted more sophisticated photo editing capabilities uninstalled it and installed other photo editing apps, with filters and image enhancing features.
• Google Play Link - Pic Collage by Cardinal Blue Software
• Google Play Score: 4.5

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