Neonpunch roundup: A sitdown with Clixtr and a new Android

The HTC Android

HTC gave us the Legend -- their newest Android phone and the sucessor to the Hero -- for 24 hours, which of course is not enough time to test a phone. But we liked what we saw and what we played with, so you'll need to read this if you are looking for a new Android phone. The Legend's aluminium unibody reminds us of a small Macbook but that is the only comparison you'll get to an Apple product. 

Nowadays we see its only Apple or HTC -- with Palm up for sale and Motorola continuing its one-hit-wonder streak -- so read more about the HTC Legend here: neonpunch.com/htc-legend-review/

Adobe's Creative Suite 5 launch

The big controversy between Adobe and Apple still didn't slow down the launch for Creative Suite 5 -- the latest in a long line of updates for the design powerhouse.

With cool new features like content aware fill and puppet warp, Photoshop looks like a must upgrade, but unless you are into developing all your print work into Flash applications for the web the rest seem to be moderate upgrades this time around.

The biggest slam against CS5 is that Flash CS5 was supposed to be able to create an iPhone app instantly and just a week before the launch Apple has told developers this will not be the case, bringing down the hype for designers wanting to get into iPhone development to a slow sputter. But still good things can be found and you can read about them here: neonpunch.com/adobe-unveils-creative-suite-5/

 

Chatting with Clixtr

Neonpunch sat down with Samihah Azim (@samihah or @clixtr) of Clixtr and talked about her company Clixtr. It's a free app for the iPhone that allows anyone to take photos for an event that can be shared with more people. Imagine a concert or a sporting event taken from different angles by strangers so you can see that same event from different persepctives as it happens.

Neonpunch: Where did the idea of Clixtr come from?

Samihah Azim: We saw the need for there to be a more efficient way to share photos amongst various people at an event. With Clixtr, users can view events instantly as they unfold around the corner and around the world, all from the palm of their hand through the mobile app. Users can also create their own events and have nearby friends and other users contribute photos to that event-based photo stream. Events can also be shared and viewed instantly via social networking integration through Facebook and Twitter through the app. Despite not physically being at an event, users can interact with event participants either through the web or mobile app. This allows users to share their photos more efficiently with their friends and other event attendees, as well as interact with one another in a more meaningful way.

Neonpunch: Do you have any events that have shown up on Clixtr that you would say were a great example of how it was done?

Samihah Azim: The events created by our users are all great examples. For specific examples, I love how the Stanford Football coaches used Clixtr during college football season. They would create Clixtr events on Game Days, then take photos behind the scenes in the locker rooms as well as on the sidelines. Fans loved this as it gave them a sneak peak of what was going on before and during the game. There were also a number of fans that would contribute their own photos from the bleachers in the stadium to the event.

Neonpunch: Are there any tips or tricks you can share?

Samihah Azim: One of my favorite photo tricks with the iPhone is to take a photo, then edit that photo through my iPhone using a photo editing app such as RetroCamera, and then uploading the photo to Clixtr and inviting my friends on Facebook and followers on Twitter to check it out. It’s a lot of fun to take pictures of random items around San Francisco or in a coffee shop, then editing and uploading it to Clixtr. A pretty cool tip with the Clixtr app is to share events through Facebook via the “Share” button in the app.

More of the interview with Samihah here: neonpunch.com/clixtr-interview/