News Byte

SmugMug’s Camera Awesome App: 13 Million Downloads, Android on the Way

One year after SmugMug launched its settings-filled Camera Awesome app for iOS, the company says that the app has been downloaded 13 million times — surpassing even Instagram’s first-year downloads — and that users have shared more than 250 million “awesomized” photos through the service. It also claims two million monthly active unique users. An Android app is coming soon, though SmugMug declined to say exactly when that would launch.

Flickr Jumps Into Mobile Photo Fray With New Insta-Hip Filters

Flickr brings photo filters to the iPhone, and oh yes, ahem, shares to Twitter.
flickr_filters

The Galaxy Camera: A Better Android-Based Camera, but a Big Commitment

Samsung’s newest gadget marries a digital camera with the features of a high-end smartphone — at a high cost.
Samsung Galaxy Camera

Mobile App Kapture Wants to Pay You to Take Photos of Yourself (With Brands, of Course)

If you’re guilty of puckering up to your smartphone camera, you might as well get rewarded for it.
KaptureFeature1

If You Want to Stay out of Jail, Don’t Instagram Your Ballot

In some states, there’s good reason to leave the smartphone at home — or at least in your pocket.
Photo courtesy of Instagram.

myTouch and myTouch Q: T-Mobile’s “Genius” Phones With Old Software

These low-cost smartphones aren’t so low-end — at least on the hardware side.
myTouchQ2

The Data Dilemma: Three Apps for Keeping Tabs on Your Smartphone Data

Wonder how much data you’re using uploading pictures or watching videos on your smartphone?
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Oh, and Another Thing About FaceTagram: Your Location

With Instagram, Facebook’s not only bulking up its photos — it’s getting your location, too.
Instagram

News Byte

Camera Awesome Lowers Photo Effects Pricing, Shares with Instagram

Camera Awesome, the photo app from SmugMug that boasts a whopping 297 photo effects and an impressive download rate of more than four million in four weeks, now works with popular photo-sharing app Instagram, allowing users to share their “awesomized” photos to Instagram’s mobile photo network. The company is now bundling all of Camera Awesome’s photo effects for a one-time purchase of $9.99, after previously charging 99 cents per bundle for 29 bundles of effects.

On Valentine’s Day, Ol’ Fashioned Phone Calls Beat Video Chat for Long-Distance Love

There’s a reason Stevie didn’t sing “I Just IM’ed to Say I Love You.”
OldTelephone

Get Ready for More TaskRabbit, With New Open API

Foursquare’s Crowley Declares Bygones! — And Maybe More? — With Google

Mattebox Photo App: More Than Just Filters