Pixlr-o-matic – Dazzle Your Pictures with Powerful Image Editing App
by Paul Wilks
Sep 27, 2011 12:58 PM –
Install
Pixlr-o-matic is a powerful image editing tool that provides a huge range of color filters, lighting effects and frames to choose from. There are so many filters and effects available, the app boasts a total of 25,000 different possible finishes in total. So, if you’re into your Android photography- this is definitely worth a look! The app also features smooth UI, intuitive ease-of-use plus the ability to share your pics to a variety of places.
Price: Free
Tested on: HTC Desire HD
Content Rating: Everyone
Pros & Cons:
Pros
- 25 different filters!
- 30 different lighting effects!
- 31 different frames!
- Smooth UI- both simple and fast!
- Cool web interface!
Cons
- No editing tools: crop, tilt shift, rotate, etc.
Features:
Pixlr-o-matic is a well furnished photo manipulation tool that can add a large number of filters, lighting effect and frames to your pictures. Using the app is easy- simply take a picture or select an existing image from your gallery. The picture quickly loads into a kind of dashboard where you can add the effects. It usually takes a moment for the effect to be demonstrated but it lets you see clearly what the finished result will be. There are 25 unique filters, 30 lighting effects and 31 frames to choose from!
More and more nowadays I’m using my phone to take pictures. My HTC Desire HD rocks an 8mp camera so it makes sense to make the most of it. I’m probably not alone because the Android market has a growing flood of photo-tools being released. From the incredibly social and fun: Streamzoo, to the fluid and sexy Lightbox and the superbly different Paper Camera- photography on Android is exploding! Pixlr-o-matic is new to the fold but it’s an incredible addition. I’ve tried lots of these apps and I’ve yet to find one with as many effects available. Many apps can give you up to 40 effects, including frames, filters and other effects- whereas Pixlr-o-matic includes a whopping 86 different options available. For effect count, this blows the competition out of the water.
Now, if the effects are a bit rubbish this probably doesn’t account for much. However Pixlr-o-matic’s contains some truly superb effects to choose from. There is a rich array of filters to start with- (oddly with human names) but they kind of replicate many of the typical filters we might see in other apps such as ‘vignette’ or ‘lomo’. You also have lighting effects which adds all kinds of atmospherical lighting orbs, rays, brightnesses, etc. which give your pictures a very finished and professional look. Finally you have a selection of 31 different frames- again these are quite typical of frames we see in other apps but the range in Pixlr-o-matic is extraordinary and there are many unique styles here.
Unlike apps such as Streamzoo and picplz, Pixlr-o-matic lacks any kind of social space in which to share your pictures; instead you can share them in any number of usual social networks. This is kind of a shame because with the success of social photography, this could really work for Pixlr-o-matic. There is also a lack of genuine editing tools such as cropping or rotation and again this lets the app down a little compared to other application in the Android Market. What Pixlr-o-matic does fantastically well is the application of filters, frames and effects. There is such a variety here, it far outperforms other apps available.
Worth checking out also, is the Pixlr-o-matic website. This offers the same features but has an even richer UI, including a very cool dark-room thematic.
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Pixlr-o-matic – Menu
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Pixlr-o-matic – Lots of frames to add
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Pixlr-o-matic – Finished result
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Pixlr-o-matic – Smooth transitions and interface
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Pixlr-o-matic – You can use own pics or the app comes with some images to play with
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Pixlr-o-matic – Easy to add effects
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Pixlr-o-matic – Street effect
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Pixlr-o-matic – Ivan effect
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Pixlr-o-matic – 3 different adjustments, each with loads of effects
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Pixlr-o-matic – Rustic effect
Usefulness:
If you use your phone for taking and editing pictures, this is a must have application. The huge number of effects available is staggering in comparison to other apps. The pictures you manipulate can be shared more or less anywhere wither from the app itself or once you have saved the picture in your gallery.
Ease of Use:
Pixlr-o-matic is a joy to use and lots of fun too. You are presented with a clear and functional dashboard which quickly adds the effects as you choose them. The process is quick, well thought out and simple to navigate. Some photo apps can seem to take an age to load your picture from the gallery, but Pixlr-o-matic is remarkably fast and fluid.
Frequently Used:
This will obviously depend on how often you take, edit and share photos on your phone. Apps like this I use several times per week as I take a lot of pictures. However, it’s such a powerful tool and with such range of choices, even if you use it less often it’s worth trying out.
Interface:
The interface is highly polished, well designed and professional looking. There’s a kind of old-school dark-room photo feel to it and finished pictures appear pegged up on a line. The transitions between the pictures and effects is great- really smooth and rich. The interface indeed looks very cool and makes for a brilliant user experience.