Instagram's Android Version is Overrated. Here's Why.

I've lately been playing with Instagram on Android and I have to say, the app is pretty lame and would still wholeheartedly recommend PicPlz. Here's are some reasons:

It's Sluggish: 

I ran the app on a phone that has more than enough power to take it on (The HTC Desire running Android 2.3.3), but it was still sluggish when it came to applying filters and publishing the photo- compare this to how great the app works on the ancient iPhone 3GS.

It's Just an iOS Port: 

While I felt there was some kind of a problem with the UI, I didn't really get an idea as to what it was until I came across Guenther Beyer's alternative UI for Instagram's Android app.  He wasn't trying to make Android imitate iOS and instead followed all of Android's design philosophies to come up with something great.

Lack of Tilt-Shift:

One of the best things about the Instagram app is tilt-shift, it made photos look so much better and added an aura to them which we've all come to like over time. While no other Android app already had this feature, everyone thought Instagram would make a difference by bringing it to the table, but they didn't. So, at the end of the day they're just another app with a dozen filters for you to apply. Nothing more, nothing less. 

Get The Official Wikipedia App for Android

Although there are tons of apps that work with Wikipedia on your Android smartphone, we never really had an “official” app. This week, Wikimedia released the official app for Wikipedia.

The app is pretty simple, it lets you search for articles on Wikipedia and read them from inside the app instead of re-directing to you the webpage. The highlight of this app is possibly the ability to save an article to read later or when offline. If you find yourself using Wikipedia a lot, this app is definitely worth it.

> Wikipedia (via Android Market)

List of Handsets Affected by HTC’s Security Flaw

It was recently discovered that some HTC smartphones powered by Android have a serious security vulnerability that allowed app developers to get access to users email addresses, GPS locations, SMS data and other sensitive information.

How to Fix Music Skipping on your HTC Smartphone?

I have often had songs being skipped during playback on my HTC Desire. Skipping in this context is not omitting songs in the playlist, but sifting through them 3x faster than normal and this occurs often (and not all the time).

Micromax A70 – First Impressions

I got the opportunity to test out a Micromax A70 last week and frankly, I was not impressed. At first sight, you get the idea that it’s a great phone since you get pretty much all the features you’d expect from a mid-range Android for 7200 INR (approx. US$153). After the break, you’ll find where this phone falls short and where it excels.

Grab the HTC Desire Gingerbread Update

HTC released the Gingerbread update via their developers site earlier today since it was basically stripped down (and would confuse normal users if sent over OTA) and I went on with it. Here are some observations:

HTC Salsa is getting a Software Update

HTC Salsa, the mid-range Android smartphone is getting a maintenance update this week. After checking for updates and installing it the new build number would be 1.12.401.2.