Lightbox Photos – take Pics, Apply Filters, Social Photo Sharing app for Android
by Paul Wilks
Aug 1, 2011 1:50 PM –
Install
Lightbox Photos is an exciting photo sharing tool for Android. Similar in many ways to Instagram on the iPhone and other Android apps such as picplz and Streamzoo, the app lets you take pictures, add filters and post to your Lightbox account. It also presents pictures from your social networks streams. The app has been gradually updating and receiving a number of new features.
Price: Free
Tested on: HTC Desire HD
Content Rating: Low maturity
Pros & Cons:
Pros
- Lots of photo filters!
- Beautifully polished interface!
- Draws together all the pictures from your other social networks!
- Web support with busy forum!
- Dynamic social aspects: view, like and comment on other people’s pictures!
- View all your liked pictures in one place!
Cons
- Lacks the range of editing options other apps, most notably Streamzoo, has.
Features:
Lightbox Photos is a photo-sharing application for Android. Simply take a photo, apply a nice filter and post to your Lightbox account. You also have the options to post to Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and FourSquare. The stand-out feature (of many) with Lightbox, is the user interface. It’s incredibly fluid and smooth to use with bouncy, buttery photograph feeds which are responsive, light and fun to view. The menu’s and navigation has had a huge overhaul, meaning it is easier than ever to find your way around, and there is far more polish than there was before.
No more built in camera
Previously, the app came with it’s very own in-built camera. This has now been removed from the final app, but you can download it separately- it’s called QuickSnap Camera. The camera was nice to use, but it perhaps lacked some of the options a native camera. Options now allow you to import from your normal gallery.
Editing
The filters included are lush and can give your photos added vibrancy. I personally really like the ‘Lomo’ and ‘XPro’ filters which look superb. While these are nice, they are nothing new; other apps such as picplz provide more variety. Lightbox editiing lacks some of the more extensive features you get with app like Streamzoo; for example there are no frames or tilt-shift edits, but aside from there is a nice range of filters that should be enough to suit most users. The interface here is superb, as it is throughout the app, and applying filters is fun and intuitive.
Social Networking
What the Lightbox Photos app continues to do very well is social networks. For example, unless you scour your Twitter feed extensively, you’re going to miss some of your friends photos. The app is useful here in that it draws together all the photos published in your stream, and publishes them in a smooth grid of pictures that can be tapped and expanded, pinched and zoomed. The same applies for pictures published in your Facebook stream. The transitions here are flawless and a huge bonus, there is rarely any lag and pictures load quickly. Additionally, the app gives you the option to post to Facebook, Twitter, FourSquare and Tumblr. According to Lightbox’s Twitter feed the ability to share to Google+ should be coming soon. However, the pictures you take are directly accessible through Lightbox’s in-built gallery, which subsequently allows you to share in various ways, including Google+.
Lightbox is a social network in it’s own right and you can follow other users and be followed, in addition to liking pictures and commenting. The pictures of those you follow appear in a smooth and responsive stream which can be viewed easily. These features are all synced and supported via proper online web pages, so you also have that level of support and the ability to view on your computer screen. One of the brilliant things about sharing pictures through the Lightbox network is that you can make pictures private. A small lock symbol appears over the top corner of the picture and you know the picture is not shared. Very simple, but such an effective idea.
It has come a long way.
Lightbox Photos is a very polished-looking and smooth application that continues to improve. It is easy to use and comes with a good range of sharing options. The app presents an extremely professional, fluid and well developed interface that is fun to use and easy to understand. Since I first reviewed Lightbox Photos the app has gone through a raft of changes and improvements. It has added some sublime features that put it head and shoulders over most of it’s competition. Also check out the new ‘Explore’ feature which shows spotlighted pictures, introduces users to other Lightboxers, helps you find cool people to follow in addition to managing your followers.
This platform alone should be enough to keep users interested, but then you should also consider who is behind the app. The CEO of Lightbox is Thai Tran, former Google and YouTube product manager so I would fully expect the service to continue to develop and grow.
Watch on Mobile
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Lightbox Photos – New Feed
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Lightbox Photos – New Liked gallery
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Lightbox Photos – New My Lightbox
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Lightbox Photos – New updates
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Lightbox Photos – Lomo filter
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Lightbox Photos – Retro filter
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Lightbox Photos – Save and share
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Lightbox Photos – Portrait mode supported.
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Lightbox Photos – Filters scroll alonside, or above the photo once you have taken it
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Lightbox Photos – Photo viewer
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Lightbox Photos – My camera roll
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Lightbox Photos – URL view
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Lightbox Photos – Popular pictures from the Lightbox server
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Lightbox Photos – Pics from news items
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Lightbox Photos – Pics from my social networks
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Lightbox Photos – News picture view
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Lightbox Photos – Offline access to photos section
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Lightbox Photos – 4 currently supported social networks; Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Foursquare
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Lightbox Photos – Normal sharing option within the Lightbox gallery
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Lightbox Photos – Sync options
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Lightbox Photos – Account settings 1
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Lightbox Photos – Account settings 2
Usefulness:
Superb for taking and sharing photos. A bona fide social network in it’s own right the app has also expanded it’s editing and viewing features. Everything about Lightbox Photos is immaculately intuitive and it makes editing and sharing your pictures a breeze.
Ease of Use:
The app is simple and intuitive to use and lots of fun. Even with the host of new features and abilities, the user-friendly interface has been maintained. Navigation is very straightforward and easy, you never really find yourself lost or looking for a feature. Adding filters is a bright and smooth experience and it’s fun to view your pictures in a variety of perspectives.
Frequently Used:
Obviously this depends on the user, but if you are a big sharer of photos, this could be something you use all the time. Perhaps similar to Streamzoo, it’s the kind of app you look forward to interacting with; whether it be viewing the pictures in your stream, uploading new ones or perusing the various sections of photos, it’s lots of fun and a joy to use.
Interface:
For me, the interface is the best ingredient of Lightbox. Smooth and beautiful the app is a joy to use and play with- responsive, fluid and fun. The lush interface is the platform Lightbox Photos has built upon because, despite the various changes, the UI remains as polished and delicious to use as ever.
Tags:
Android App,
Android Apps,
AndroidTapp.com App Review,
Instagram,
Lightbox,
Lightbox Photo,
Lightbox Photos,
photography,
picplz,
Pictures
Categorised in: Photography, Social
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