21 March 2013

5+ HTML5 Games To Play In Your Browser Now



HTML5 is driving Web development forward in an exciting way. It offers a range of advantages over its predecessors, and could (and really should) kill proprietary plugins such as Adobe Flash and Microsoft Silverlight. HTML5 is capable of handling a wide range of multimedia requirements, including video, audio, and, best of all, games.


What follows are 5+ HTML5 games to suit all tastes. These are all free, and available to play in your Web browser right now. The only requirement is an HTML5-compliant browser, but seeing as that includes the latest builds of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Opera, and Internet Explorer, this shouldn’t be a problem.


Solitairey



Solitairey is a free virtual version of the age-old card game that has been played by generation after generation.There are over 30 variations of solitaire available to play here, including aesthetically pleasing layouts such as Pyramid and Grandfather’s Clock.


It looks great, and plays even better than it looks. The cards move fluidly and everything responds in the way you’d expect it to. As an added bonus the solutions are even provided for those lacking in working gray matter, and these can be viewed one move at a time.


For: Card players with time to waste and a preference for keyboards over the real thing.


Lux Ahoy



With Lux Ahoy we move from the cerebral to the mindless, but that isn’t a criticism of this cracking little game. It’s simplistic and therefore won’t train your brain in any way, shape, or form, but that is part of its charm. Simple gameplay worked for Angry Birds, so why not angry pirates?


The game sees you taking on the role of one of two warring pirates, fighting against the other by firing the cannon attached to your boat. The graphics are cutesy but gorgeous, and if there were more than three levels this would be a truly epic game. It’s still eminently playable, it just won’t last you long.


For: Fans of Angry Birds, fans of pirates, fans of firing cannonballs at a computer-controlled enemy.


A Grain Of Truth



As with all the best point-and-click games, a sense of adventure lies at the heart of A Grain Of Truth. You control the main protagonist who sets off on a journey during which she’ll encounter many interesting characters, solve ingenious puzzles, and unravel a sweeping narrative.


The backdrops are exquisite, the characters are charming, and the story is compelling enough to keep you playing. The options to interact with the environment are kept to a minimum, which ensures the game can be played by all. And it comes highly recommended for everybody.


For: Those strange people (like myself) who miss the simple allure of a good point-and-click adventure.


X-Type



X-Type shows just what is possible with HTML5, being a game that would have needed some hefty hardware behind it a couple of decades ago. Now it’s playable right within your Web browser. For playing this game you’re rewarded with some epic boss battles and a light show capable of distracting you with its awesomeness.


The name X-Type is a rather obvious play on R-Type, possibly the best known 2D shooter ever created. It’s also one of the hardest, and unlikely to be beaten by modern-day gamers. X-Type is also a challenging game that requires gamers willing to remain focused for long stretches of time.


For: Fans of retro games who remember a time when R-Type was the best thing on the planet.


HexGL



HexGL is the frankly terrible name for what is a mind-boggling display of what HTML5 is capable of. This is a Wipeout clone that looks too good to work in a Web browser, but it does just that, and with ease. This is likely to be the best-looking HTML5 game you’ve ever seen.


Unfortunately HexGL is currently only available as a beta, meaning the actual gameplay leaves a lot to be desired. With one track and one ship, your only challenge is to compete against other gamers for the best time. Roll on a full release with more tracks, more ships, and more on-screen rivalry.


For: Those who loved the Wipeout games and would love to see how it will feel to play them in a Web browser.


Plus…


The five HTML5 games above will keep you occupied for a considerable length of time, but if they’re still not enough to sate your need for browser-based gaming, there are plenty more HTML5 games to play. Tim previously recommended 5 impressive free HTML5 games to play, and then there is also…


JAM With Chrome , a band simulator that plays directly in your browser, powered, rather obviously, by Google Chrome.


BrowserQuest , a simple MMORPG that will evoke memories of old-skool Zelda and Pokemon games, powered by Mozilla.


Bombermine , an MMO version of Bomberman, with hundreds of people laying bombs around a huge, ever-changing level.


Atari Arcade , a collection of HTML5 versions of classic Atari games, including Pong, Asteroids, and Missile Command.


HTML5games.com , a website wholly dedicated to bringing together the best HTML5 games for everybody to play.


Conclusions


HTML5 games are compelling by the very fact that they play right there in your Web browser without the need for any plugins or other such nonsense. Whether it be a virtual version of a classic card game, a pirate clash, a point-and-click adventure, a vertical 2D shooter, or a space racing game, HTML5 games are perfect time-wasters. As are these other fun things to do online with HTML5.


What do you think of the HTML5 games listed above? Did any one in particular float your boat? Or did you think they were all as good as one another? Are there any that didn’t make the cut that you think should have? As always we’d love to hear your views in the comments section below.


Image Credit: Christian Heilmann


The post 5+ HTML5 Games To Play In Your Browser Now appeared first on MakeUseOf.



Alternative Apps for Samsung Galaxy S4′s Software Features



Samsung Galaxy S4 is making a lot of noise after its unveiling last week. The successor to Galaxy S3, which the South Korean electronics company touted as a “life companion,” has a number of proprietary software features that can help users look after their health, enhance their photography experience, and make mobile use all the more easier.


While there is a lot to love about the GS4, many of the innovations integrated into it can be enjoyed via third-party apps. So before you ditch your current phone for S4 to enjoy its “cutting edge” features, you might want to consider checking out the apps that you can use as alternatives to its features.


S Translator – Talk Translate, Mail Translator, World Lens, Google Translate


Samsung’s built-in language translator (S Translator) is definitely nifty when it comes to converting SMS, emails and instant messages into your native tongue. You may speak or type into the app to translate speech or text.


Language translation services are not a new thing, though. In fact, if you head onto Google Play Store or over at Apple Store you will find a host of translators that does the same tasks as S4′s S Translator. Talk Translate, for instance, can translate and read up to 30 languages and has a voice recognition capability. The same thing can be said about Mail Translator, a free language translator app that is capable of converting emails to 56 different languages. Of course, you cannot overlook Google’s translate app, which you can download free of charge. You can use it to translate both text and speech in 60 different languages.


Dual Shot Mode – Duo Cam


If your phone is equipped with two cameras–one at the front and one at the rear–normally, you will have to choose one of the two when taking a photo or video. Not so with S4. Its dual camera mode lets you take photos and videos in two directions at the same time. Simply put, the front-facing camera will give you a thumbnail view, while the rear-facing camera provides you the remainder of the image you are trying to capture.


For an iOS phone, there is an app called DuoCam that you can use as an alternative for S4′s dual camera mode. When you launch the app, you will be taken to a simple camera. When you click on the button, the shutter snaps anything that the main rear-facing camera sees. Then, it also takes a photo of you through the front-facing lens. You can visit your DuoCam image library to see the two photos and you have the option to put them together to create a 2-sided print, blend them together into one, and a number of other variations.


S Health – Calorie Tracker, Runtastic


Samsung Galaxy S4′s S Health is a great feature for health buffs. It can help track diet, detects temperature and humidity of the surroundings and is also connected to a pedometer. However, with increased focus on living a healthy lifestyle, there has been a slew of health and fitness apps available and most of them can be downloaded for free. For instance, if you are watching your weight, you can use Livestrong’s Calorie Tracker that lets you track down your calorie, carbohydrate, fat and protein intake. It also lets you calculate your nutrition intake and it has a dedicated calorie tracker community that will help keep you motivated in reaching your fitness goals. Runtastic, on the other hand, which is available both on Google Play and Apple Store, helps you keep track of every step you take. It also provides a number of other fitness metrics like distance, time, calorie consumption and step rate.


Gesture-control function – Google Gesture Search, Good Mood Droid


Samsung sure packed a lot of gesture-based capability on Galaxy S4. From automatic brightness adjustment, screen tilting to smart video pause whenever you look away from the screen, there is no denying how intuitive S4 is. But, there are also a number of gesture apps you can download that performs similar functions as those available in S4. For example, there is Google Gesture Search that allows you to access applications, settings, contacts, music and bookmarks on your Android device by merely drawing letters or numbers on the screen. Then, there is Good Mood Droid (GMD), an app that lets you control your mobile device using multitouch and multitask gestures.


Samsung Galaxy S4 is surely an excellent smartphone considering that a lot of improvements were done to it so as to make it more distinct from its S3 predecessor. However, looking past the nice aesthetics and hype over its features, it cannot be denied that the technology integrated into it are not exactly new nor are cutting-edge in nature. With a few search on app stores, you will find that there are some features you can install in your current phone that are almost similar as those incorporated in S4. In any case, though, it is still up to you whether you would like to give Galaxy S4 a try.


This article was written by Ericka, an avid writer who is interested in discussing things related to technology. She is also a regular contributor for www.movingpictures.tv.


The post Alternative Apps for Samsung Galaxy S4′s Software Features appeared first on Hack Illusion.




Apple Fixes Lock Screen Bug With iOS 6.1.3, Only To Encounter Yet Another One [Updates]



Apple has just released iOS 6.1.3 which includes a very important fix. As you might recall, iOS 6.1.2 had a couple of nasty bugs that allowed unauthorized access through a device’s lock screen, which meant private information was available to people looking at a phone without the owner’s permission. Thankfully, those bugs have been squashed with the release of the latest version of Apple’s mobile operating system, but it seems that new ones have emerged, even on this version of iOS.


The bugs allowed users to start an emergency call and quickly cancel it to see the information on the lock screen, make phone calls, and listen to voicemails. One method was simple, and the other was somewhat more complicated, but they both led to the same result. While the bugs do not grant full access to the entire phone, text messages and other personal information are easily accessible directly on the lock screen.


The new version of the bug was discovered by YouTube user videosdebarraquito, and was already replicated on iPhones 4, 4S and 5. According to the YouTube video, the bug can be avoided by disabling the voice dial system.



The latest version of iOS also brings some improvements to Apple’s often ridiculed Maps application. The focus of the update is on Japan maps, which according to Apple should now be more accurate. Previous updates to Apple’s Maps app have come on the server-side, and did not require a firmware or software updates, which makes this one strangle different.


Another important, and likely less exciting, part of iOS 6.1.3 is that the popular evasi0n jailbreak tool will no longer work. Older versions of iOS can still be jailbroken using Redsn0w, but anyone running a device with an A5 processor will want to hold off on updating to iOS 6.1.3.


So one security hole was plugged, but it seems that Apple is still not free of lockscreen bugs. Will you update to iOS 6.1.3?


Source: VentureBeat, TheNextWeb


The post Apple Fixes Lock Screen Bug With iOS 6.1.3, Only To Encounter Yet Another One [Updates] appeared first on MakeUseOf.



New Gmail Shortcuts for Composing Messages



Gmail's new interface for composing messages has some cool keyboard shortcuts:



* Shift+Esc - focus the main window

* Esc - focus the latest chat or compose box

* Ctrl+. - advance to the next chat or compose box

* Ctrl+, - advance to the previous chat or compose box

* Ctrl+Enter - send message

* Ctrl+Shift+c - add CC recipients

* Ctrl+Shift+b - add BCC recipients

* Ctrl+Shift+f - add custom from



These shortcuts are displayed when you mouse over some buttons from the rich-text editor:



* Ctrl+Shift+2 - insert emoticon

* Ctrl+Shift+7 - bulleted list

* Ctrl+Shift+8 - numbered list

* Ctrl+[ - indent less

* Ctrl+] - indent more

* Ctrl+Shift+l - align left

* Ctrl+Shift+e - align center

* Ctrl+Shift+r - align right



You can see the entire list of shortcuts by pressing Shift+? in the Gmail window.






{ Thanks, Cougar. }


YouTube Search Trends



You can now restrict Google Trends results to YouTube. Just like web search, image search, news search and product search, YouTube is a great way to measure people's interest over time.






"Google Trends enables you to take popular search queries and explore traffic patterns over time and geography. Now we've added YouTube search data going back to 2008, making it another great tool to look at video trends. Visit Google Trends and enter any search you'd like and then, on the left, choose 'limit to' for YouTube. You can slice by region or category as well," explains the YouTube Trends blog.






It's interesting to compare web search trends with YouTube trends. For example, [Galaxy] and [Android] are just as popular when it comes to web search, but [Galaxy] is a lot more popular than [Android] on YouTube.


You Are What You Like on Facebook [Weekly Facebook Tips]



Did you ever wonder what your Facebook Likes reveal about you? A team of researchers from the UK figured it out for you. To demonstrate their results, they offer a free one click personality test based purely on your Facebook Likes. The results potentially reveal whether you’re neurotic, conservative, male or female, use drugs, or smoke. I tried it and boy does this seem accurate. I Like!


In a recent study published in the well respected journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS), Kosinksi et al. show that “easily accessible digital records of behavior, Facebook Likes, can be used to automatically and accurately predict a range of highly sensitive personal attributes including: sexual orientation, ethnicity, religious and political views, personality traits, intelligence, happiness, use of addictive substances, parental separation, age, and gender.


The One Click Personality Test


To prove their point, two of the authors have set up the website YouAreWhatYouLike.com where anyone can test their personality, simply by signing in with Facebook. Results of The One Click Personality Test are solely based on your Facebook Likes. Below is my result, which I personally think is pretty accurate, but definitely not 100%.



The predictions rely on data from over 58,000 volunteers, who shared their Facebook Likes, provided information for demographic profiles, and completed personality tests as part of the study. These data allowed the researchers to extract a list of most predictive Facebook pages. An individual’s Facebook Likes are compared against this list to draw conclusions on the subject’s personality. Most indicative Likes of my profile for example were for HostelBookers.com and Facebook Site Governance.



The researchers categorized predictive Likes for 18 different traits. For each extreme of the trait (e.g. high vs. low IQ or male vs. female gender), they use 10 indicative Facebook pages. For example if you Like Biology and Jennifer Lopez, you most likely to have many friends; but if you like The Dark Knight and Minecraft, you most likely to have few friends.


A full list of most predictive Likes are provided in a PDF document via PNAS.


Since this test is not based on actual answers to a standard personality test, but merely on random Facebook Likes, it is not nearly as accurate as a real test, which themselves are not 100% accurate. However, it does come close. Interestingly, the prediction for the personality trait Openness is the most accurate and almost as good as that of a standard personality test.


Reflection


To be honest, in part my results reveal more how I would like to be perceived, rather than how I really am. And this raises some interesting questions.


Would you use the Like feature differently if you were aware that your Likes are visible to others? Of course! At least if you’re smart. In fact, I’m very careful with what I Like. Moreover, I have Liked very few pages because I don’t want my News Feed to be cluttered up and I don’t want to give Facebook more data than I absolutely have to. I think that my Like profile doesn’t reflect the real me.


On the other hand, the authors do caution that it doesn’t necessarily take no-brainer Likes to predict a character trait like your sexuality. In other words, it isn’t easy to influence the test and hide a specific trait. Either way, the data aren’t very reliable. However, they don’t come with such a disclaimer and a wrong result could actually hurt you more than a right one.


Finally, if you only Like what you think would be good to Like, do you gradually become more like the person you desire to be? Assuming you are what you eat, will you become more healthy if you only eat what is supposed to make you healthy? The answer to the latter is a definite Yes, but I’m not sure about the former. The question is, can you change your personality by pretending to be different, like you can lift your mood by faking a smile?



Conclusion


The study is a reminder that habitual data collected online, including Facebook Likes, browsing histories, search queries, or online purchases, can reveal a lot about us. The researchers draw a positive conclusion and say that these data can be used to automatically customize and thus improve services, marketing, and product recommendations. However, they also caution that the data could easily be used without the user’s consent and without them noticing.


The authors write: “One can imagine situations in which such predictions, even if incorrect, could pose a threat to an individual’s well-being, freedom, or even life.” Indeed, it does become difficult to stay on top of your own digital data and a loss of trust in digital service is a possible consequence. Hence the authors conclude: “It is our hope, however, that the trust and goodwill among parties interacting in the digital environment can be maintained by providing users with transparency and control over their information, leading to an individually controlled balance between the promises and perils of the Digital Age.


The full paper covers only four pages and can be viewed directly on the PNAS website.


If you don’t want people snooping around your Likes, hide your personal information on Facebook, especially in the view of Facebook’s Graph Search. Also have a look at our (Very) Unofficial Facebook Privacy Guide.


What did your personality test reveal about you? Please share your insights in the comments!


Image credit: You Are What You Eat via Shutterstock


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Google Keep, Now Available



Google Keep has been launched: it's Google's latest attempt to create a service for taking notes. Unlike Google Notebook, Keep is a Google Drive app (the Drive integration is not yet ready for public release), it doesn't have a rich-text editor and it's optimized for mobile.



There's an Android app and a desktop site. Both use the sticky notes metaphor and you can choose the color for each note, add text, images, lists and voice recordings that are automatically converted to text in the mobile app. Both interfaces let you choose between the grid view and the list view.









Google Keep lacks many of the features that were available in Google Notebook: labels, sorting, comments, multiple notebooks, rich-text editor, sharing. It looks like a lightweight Google Notebook for mobile devices.



"With Keep you can quickly jot ideas down when you think of them and even include checklists and photos to keep track of what's important to you. Your notes are safely stored in Google Drive and synced to all your devices so you can always have them at hand," informs Google.



It's likely that each Google Keep note will be a file in Google Drive, so you'll be able to share it with other people, add it to a folder, download it etc.



For now, Google Keep is the only Google Drive service that has more features in the Android app than in the desktop interface.






{ Thanks, Sterling. }


Not Every Pinner Is A Winner: Making Fun Of Pinterest



Pinterest is, for the uninitiated among you, a social network which revolves around images, with users pinning pictures of anything and everything in vast collections. It’s an intriguing idea which seems to resonate mostly with women, hence Pinterest grew quickly and gained a lot of female users through the course of 2012.


Several MakeUseOf writers are big fans of the site, especially Nancy, who has previously written about unique and innovative uses for Pinterest and suggested which users we should all be following on Pinterest. We’ve also featured a guide to Pinterest written by Maggie Marystone, and MakeUseOf even maintains a presence on Pinterest.


However, while Pinterest has a lot of fans and a lot of great content, it also has numerous detractors and some highly questionable content. What follows are 7 funny websites which exist to mock or otherwise glean entertainment value from the crappier side of Pinterest.


WTF, Pinterest



WTF, Pinterest is a blog that gently mocks some of the things that people post to Pinterest. Things that make normal people say, “WTF,” but which someone, somewhere thought was worthy of sharing with the rest of the InterWebs.


This isn’t an endless stream of images augmented by nothing more than a one-line riposte (though sites that do that well can be brilliant). Instead, we get compilations based on themes and discussions over the merits of certain trends that appear on Pinterest. In other words, WTF, Pinterest brings the funny, but does so with more than a modicum of intelligence.


Pinterest, You Are Drunk



Pinterest, You Are Drunk is an aptly titled Tumblr which seeks to find and share some of the more bizarre items posted to Pinterest. Items such as the Hands-Free Sandwich Holder, which is about as niche a product as you’re ever likely to see.


What’s particularly funny about this site is the way it cuts down world-be designers and modern artists who seem to think that originality is everything. It’s clearly not, especially if the item’s only plus point is its originality. There may be a reason no one created it before you had the insight to do so.


Pinbeciles



Pinbeciles is not only the name of this blog but also the name of people who pin images of truly terrible things to Pinterest. Not terrible as in horrific, NSFW things, but terrible of the, “What on earth were they thinking?!” variety.


The posts are always succinct, with a single photo and a short, pithy comment related to it. The sort of posts to expect are stripper shoes for babies, and Fritos covered in caramel and chocolate. Thus proving that while Pinterest allows people to show off what excites them, it doesn’t guarantee good taste.


Sh*t People Pin



Sh*t People Pin is a great name for this site thanks to its dual meanings. Is it referring to the sh*t that people pin on Pinterest or the sh*t people who pin on Pinterest? Judging by the content seen here it’s both.


As well as sharing the worst images posted to Pinterest, Sh*t People Pin also shares some of the worst comments made. Some of the insights posted to Pinterest are as well thought out as those posted to YouTube, commonly regarded as being the home of the stupidest commenters.


Pintester



Pintester does exactly what you’d expect it to: detailing one woman’s attempts at following Pinterest posters’ simple advice on how to make stuff. Cue lots of failed dinners, arts and crafts items, and life hacks.


Sonja Foust is the woman behind Pintester, and she tests pins so that you don’t have to. Unfortunately her success rate is rather low, but then it’s the fact that she messes most tests up that make the blog so entertaining. The potty language only helps make this site a great read. Or perhaps I’m just really immature.


Pinstrosity



Pinstrosity sits comfortably alongside Pintester, as it also features attempts at recreating pins, often with shockingly poor results. Marquette and Emilee are the two women who continually set themselves up to fail… God bless ‘em.


Some of the projects the two writers take on are huge and liable to go wrong, but even the simple ones often turn out to be deceptively difficult. This goes to show that while Pinterest may be home to practical advice, the end result of the advice always depends upon the person undertaking the project.


Really Pinterest?



Really Pinterest is a hilarious site to close with, despite the name being in need of some added punctuation. This entry is updated numerous times a day with an eclectic mix of photos that really show how varied and unpredictable the content on Pinterest has become.


This site could easily slot into our previously published list of websites full of funny photos, as that is the bread and butter on display at Really Pinterest. Most posts will make you laugh out loud, and many will make you wonder why someone thought this was worthy of pinning in the first place.


Conclusions


This is a good mix of websites either openly mocking the type of things people are putting on Pinterest or having fun with the concept. However, there are bound to be more of the same out there, which is where you come in. If you know of another website similar to those featured in the list above then please link to it in the comments section below.


You can also use the opportunity to talk about Pinterest. Do you have a Pinterest account? If so, do you actively use it or did you sign up merely to see what the fuss was about? If you are an active user, what kinds of images do you pin to your boards? Feel free to let us know your thoughts.


The post Not Every Pinner Is A Winner: Making Fun Of Pinterest appeared first on MakeUseOf.



Fhotoroom: The Nearest Thing To Instagram For Windows Phone



If taking photos on your Windows Phone is your thing, then you’ll need a good processing app that is capable of offering a variety of tweaks and adjustments. Of course, on a desktop computer such software can set you back, sometimes up to $100 – not the sort of price you would want to spend on mobile phone apps.


Thankfully, that sort of price is something you don’t have to worry about. Windows Phone users no longer have to rely on desktop applications for resizing, cropping and applying filters to your smartphone snaps thanks to a swathe of new apps that are available in the Windows Phone Store by device manufacturers and third party developers.


Among these is Fhotoroom, an easy-to-use app that is intended for fast and effective results. Available free from the Windows Store, this app is – in the absence of Instagram for Windows Phone 8 – arguably the best image post processing app for the platform.


Fhotoroom Features


Despite its unwieldy spelling, Fhotoroom is nevertheless full of useful features. As well as being a photo processor, however, it also offers its own camera app, one that offers quite a few bonus tools.


Present in Fhotoroom are the filters you might expect, offering everything from the evocative “Tsar” filter that produces a Soviet-era Russian result to the crops, resizes, the ability to alter the various colour balances and even select areas to be blurred out. All this, and then the option to save to your phone or SkyDrive, or join Fhotoroom to upload to Facebook, Twitter or Flickr via their service (although the setup for this certainly needs some work).



In camera mode, meanwhile, Fhotoroom provides a viewfinder grid, a timer and tools for taking different types of photograph, such as action shots, night images, scenery and portraits. You can also switch to your front-facing camera if necessary for your purposes and still gain the same great results.


Using Fhotoroom


As you should have gathered, Fhotoroom has a lot of tools and features, with over 50 filters and 27 frames, not to mention 18 editing tools!


This fact alone may lead you to think that it might be a complicated experience, but this isn’t the case at all. Thanks to some great user interface design, the Fhotoroom developers have succeeded in providing all of the features across the foot of the Windows Phone display in that same hinterland that Internet Explorer uses in Windows Phone and Windows 8 to display the address bar and back button.


Even better, they’ve managed to retain the Metro/Modern/whatever-Microsoft-call-it style in the app without sacrificing any usability or functionality.


Adding Filters & Frames


Although Fhotoroom has a very good camera interface/overlay, you probably won’t use this except in rare situations when you need a timer or the ability to snap action shots (only the Windows Phone camera software can be launched from the camera hardware button). Rather, Fhotoroom will probably be most commonly launched from the Photos hub or straight after snapping a photo with the Windows Phone camera.



With your image selected, you will able to launch Fhotoroom from the apps… menu option in Photos. Once open, you will be presented with a choice of menu options. To crop, add a simple filter and frame and upload to your SkyDrive, begin by selecting Basic Edit to find the Crop option, using your finger to drag the placeholders.


As with every other tool or filter that will change the image, you will need to confirm your crop by tapping the apply button. If you’re unhappy, cancel and if you want to try again, tap reset.



You can now add a filter. Tap Styles, then choose the appropriate new look for your photo. There are 28 upper-level filters, some of which have additional presets when tapped, so you should spend time exploring what is on offer. Again, when you’re happy, tap apply. You might also use the Save button to keep a copy of the “Fhotoroomed” image – the original won’t be changed.


Although the filters are impressive, the Frames on offer are rather pedestrian compared with some other apps. When you have made your selection, apply and Save!


Comparisons


There are several other image processing apps for Windows Phone that you might consider. Thanks to the continued lack of Instagram, many pretenders have come along to try and fill the void.



Nokia users can take advantage of the ultra-fast (but limited) Creative Studio, while Metrogram and Pictastic are both good options; however, neither has the complete polish that Fhotoroom offers. If Instagram does ever come to Windows Phone, they might have a bit of a fight on their hands converting users…


If there is a problem with Fhotoroom then it is with the clunky sharing system; the permission acquisition from Facebook or Twitter is painfully slow, for some reason. Despite this, however, Fhotoroom is the type of app that you should be installing on your first day of Windows Phone ownership, and holds pride of place in our full list of Windows Phone apps for a very good reason – it’s superb.


The post Fhotoroom: The Nearest Thing To Instagram For Windows Phone appeared first on MakeUseOf.