App Analysis

In my two most recent posts I have talked about my Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 and the cool apps that you can get for it. I'm writing another post to delve further into the app analysis (and also because my Samsung Galaxy Tab has been distracting me from my reading and I've got zilch in the way of book reviews). I've noticed a few blogs writing articles about some of the top apps when I was searching for some decent apps and I hope that I can help some other people and save them some time.

I mainly wanted to talk about photo apps in this post, but I do mention a few others. I never really was into photography mainly because it seemed too hard. I did not think I could take a good picture and even if I could I was never happy with the result I got from my camera. Often too yellow or too blue or blurry or overexposed from the flash. Despite this, I always had a longing to try out a vintage camera like a Polaroid or a Diana, but that could turn out to be far more expensive than it was worth because you'd actually have to get the film for it and get it developed and you couldn't crop or delete images like you could digitally.

I really wanted to learn to take some nicer pictures for my blog (as you can see I often try to take pictures for my musings/update posts) and went searching for some photo editing apps. I ended up looking at these photo/camera apps instead and was simply amazed at how you could turn something not-so-shiny and new into something almost authentic looking and all of the effects that could be created. These apps allow you to upload pictures you have taken previously or take new ones and filter them. The only bad thing I have noted so far, that all apps of this nature seem to have, or lack, is that you cannot crop in this app. For that I use the standard photo editor that came on my tablet.

I decided to write this post with pictures for evidence. I used the picture below for all of the apps so that they compared. this is a picture I found on WE HEART IT and to me it also looks as if some filters have been applied, so I have included an un-touched image as a kind of control element...

Image Source

ROIDIZER:

This App was free in the Google Play Store.

The Roidizer app is cool for Polaroid fans. It gives the person editing the photo a choice of a few different Polaroid filter effects by film name. I don't know how legitimate the names are but if they are real then that's cool. The app also allows you to rotate the image and to write on the frame. I dislike that the frames are all pretty much the same because when you use them on a blog or a white background you cannot see the frame that well. Also, I wish that there were a few more options with the text. I would like to be able to write in different colours, sizes and styles. 

^Taken with Roidizer

FX CAMERA:

This app was free in the Play Store

This camera has a fair few different types of editing options. You can make a fish eye photo, a pop-art photo, an instant photo, a toy- camera photo.... And, there are filters from within; things like 'Plastic' and 'Dreamy'. I like that this app allows you to preview the effect in selection mode. I also dislike the variations of frames available and find that it can be difficult to upload certain photos.

^An example of the previews in selection mode.

^Here is the effect I chose.

VIGNETTE:

This app is available as free demo or as a paid app for the full version. I didn't know what the differences were so I just got the paid version from here.

I really like this app. It would have to be my favourite photo app. The only issue that people seem to have with it is that you have to go in and out of screens to change filters. You can apply multiple filters if you select 'Customize filters' and you can select different types of frames and different colours for frames. Pics are kept in a separate gallery which can be annoying. You can try out Vignette, Portrait, Black/White, Cinematic, Toy Camera, Lens Filters and Vintage. You can then add film grain, coloured filters, light leaks, extra light leaks and a focus halo if you wish. 

^ here is an example of the filter selection screen.

^Here is an example of a Magenta colour filter with film grain and extra light leaks. I chose a narrow grunge filter in white.

^I chose the Toy camera with light leaks and film grain. With a cream narrow border.

Generally, I think that a white or cream border looks best for most pictures, but I'd like to see some coffee stained or even floral print frames for a bit of fun. Maybe even a vintage wall-hanging frame in antique silver/gold. Photo app creators are you listening?

I also wanted to warn you guys about some photo apps that looked really promising but fail. They won't necessarily get you a virus or anything nasty like that, but they are just hopeless. These apps are 'Pudding Camera' and 'Crayon Camera'. The apps didn't allow me to save or to import old pics from my gallery for editing. 

OTHER APPS:

PERSONAL CLOSET:

A paid app from here.

The main thing that bothers me about this app is the name. In Australia we generally don't use the word closet. So I have aptly renamed the app as 'Wardrobe' using the icon changer tool. The idea of this app is really cool. It reminds me of Cher's computer program in 'Clueless'. The main problem with it is that it takes a while to photograph all of your clothes and accessories and to enter them into your app, but I think the effort will pay off as you can save outfit ideas and search through clothes a little easier. The app also has a weather report function and a size chart converter. Some pictures can be downloaded from the Internet (like that modcloth scarf for example).

^Here is an example of an outfit I created. The pictures can be organised in a similar matter to polyvore.

MY FONT. MAKE A FONT. FONT MAKER:

I bought this app here

I thought that this was a cool idea for an app and I guess it still is. I have created 5 fonts already and installed 3 onto my computer using a USB. What bothers me is that you can't actually use the font on a tablet (or at least if you get another app to download it and i just couldn't be bothered to try and figure out which app would let me do that. It might be cute for printing out bday cards if I decide to do that.

ICON CHANGER:

I got this free from here.

This app allowed me to change the shortcuts into pretty pictures and to alternate any long or annoying app names. I never downloaded any paid packs, so I'll warn you not to spend your money on those unless you are sure. Instead I just downloaded some cute pics from WE HEART IT and used those. The app can crop selected photos from the gallery, but can't do much else. Also, be sure that you've got it exactly right before you save, because if you want to fix it you will have to make it from scratch.

I hope you enjoyed my app post and that it helps anyone looking for some cool android apps. Do you know of any cool apps that you'd like to share with me? Have you tried any of the apps mentioned?

Your Favourite Blogger,

Natalie

My Samsung Galaxy Tablet 2 10.1

In yesterday's post I mentioned  the purchase of a Samsung Galaxy Tablet and that I was interested in creating some custom icons for it. Not long after writing the post I figured it out and have discovered a few more things. I thought I would write a bit about the Tablet so that anyone in the process of looking for a tablet will have a basic idea of the pros and cons of this one.

It's crazy how many devices people have in their homes these days. As well as having a family computer to share with others and a laptop, I decided to get a tablet. Why? well, originally I was against touch screens, but then I really got into music, art and a few other things and thought that maybe there was a site I could use or a free program I could download, but all I got was links to apps and you can't add apps to your laptop. There were also a few games that people have been playing on their tablets that I wasn't able to play on my laptop. Then the tablet I wanted came on sale and I guess curiosity just got the better of me.

^This is a picture of what my home screen looks like. Notice that I don't have any bright coloured app shortcuts on the page, but instead have some pretty squares that colour coordinate with my background? That's because I customized the icons. You can do this by downloading an android app called 'Icon Changer'. It's a free app that you download. Once opened you can click on a program that comes up in the list and replace the picture shown with a picture you have saved on your tablet (Note: you must find or make these yourself) and then a second shortcut will be created on your home screen. You then delete the old shortcut and voila!

Also, notice my lovely Lana Del Rey background? it took me a while to find something online that wasn't horribly pixelated. I found that I had to go for something that was originally quite large and that was landscape orientated where the main focal points of the image lay somewhere in the centre. Anything too high or too low will get cut off by the tablet. I also found that saving the image and then changing the wallpaper by clicking on the home screen was easier to customize as you could stretch the borders to fit more onto the screen. Selecting an image and choosing the 'Set as Wallpaper' version almost always looks pixelated because the borders are made really small.

^ Here is an enlarged picture of my icons. There is a lock and key for settings, a picture from 'Mirror Mirror' for internet, A picture of ink and a quill for Polaris, camera pictures for camera apps, a gift bag for play store, a fountain for Tumblr, a 'G' for Goodreads and a Typewriter for Blogger. As you can see I have also started a 'Printerest' account. Click Here to visit my Printerest. 

One of the great things about my Galaxy tab 2 is the ability to customize things. You can change so may things on your home screen just by downloading an app. There is an app for pretty much everything and if they aren't free they are normally pretty cheap. I think the main purpose of having a tab is to get access to the great collection of free apps. 

My tablet only has a 3 mega pixel camera which isn't a huge issue for me seeing as I already have an actual camera and I don't mind a vintage (low mega pixel) look photo at times, but it can limit you to some of the apps that require a focus function. Barcode scanning apps are a no-no if your tablet doesn't focus. I've downloaded the Roidizer app for taking faux Polaroid pics though, because the lack of mega pixels works in my favour there.

Sometimes the quality of sound or picture in an app depends more on the app than the actual tablet. I have downloaded a few different recording apps such as 4-tracks Lite and Tape Machine to record some acoustic guitar and the Tape Machine one was far better quality. 4-tracks lite made my guitar sound electric electric though and the static-y noises were really loud in the recording.

Some apps created for internet sites like the Printerest App and the Blogger App are created for easier use on the tablet while other apps like the Tumblr app seem to loose functionality. I don't know if there is a way to fix it, but at the moment I am considering deleting it, because I am having great difficulty getting any pictures to load and GiFs don't work. Youtube takes an awful long time to load too. If I'm really bent on watching a video I will save it to my watch list and go to my laptop to view it.

Forget the apps though, some of the stuff that's already loaded on the tablet is pretty helpful. There a few different story book programs loaded on for mums with young children and you have access to news, weather and GPS widgets. There is also a fairly decent picture editor and a program called Polaris Office which is highly compatible with Microsoft Office programs like Word and Excel. 

One thing that annoys me about the Android store - like many online stores- is the inability to use Paypal. You can buy giftcards for it though, like you can on Itunes, so I guess I might just have to get one of those so I can download a few apps that don't come in Free versions. Things like font creators and wardrobe organizers. 

^This is an example of a faux Polaroid made with Droidizer. The app allows you to take pictures (or download them from a folder and to select "films" or rather filters to change the appearance of the picture. You can choose from a number of different fonts to write on the Polaroid with including this one (my favourite) which is a permanent marker font. The only thing I dislike is that the white Polaroid frame doesn't seem to change much throughout the changing of films, not does the text colour. I would like to see the app get upgraded so that the font colours dark brown and dark grey could be used and that the frame could be more dis-coloured or have a bit of a shadow, so that when I blog it, it can easily be distinguished from the background.

My tablet doesn't have a USB port so I need an adapter to store items on USB. I don't mind though, because the area the charger plugs into is at the bottom of my tablet in the middle and if there was a USB it would stick out awkwardly. The USB in the picture is one that my boss bought for me to use at work. Unfortunately the  USB didn't fit properly in the computer as the computer had a lip on it that stuck out right near the USB plug. So, my boss let me have the USB stick. It glows red when plugged in.

One thing I dislike about my tablet is that it automatically saves pictures and that it doesn't allow you to re-save to the same file name. Ultimately I know that I am going to be spending a lot of time deleting or transporting files to USB because my photos are going to fill up pretty quickly. I can see benefits to this though, because I have been guilty of deleting things or not saving things that I do need.

Do you have a Tablet? What type do you have? And, can you recommend any good apps for a reading, writing, crafty girl like me?

Your Favourite Blogger,

Natalie