Camera Awesome

November 12, 2013

SmugMug’s Camera Awesome makes its way to a Google Play store near you!

Yes! Camera Awesome has finally arrived for the legions of Android users around the globe!

SmugMug – the people behind Camera Awesome – have this to say about their mobile app on a blog post announcing its arrival on the Android platform:

Camera Awesome is your ticket to taking great photos at any moment of the day. It’s a powerful, easy-to-use camera app perfect for photographers (but easy enough for non-photographers). It’s for creative people who love capturing their everyday memories and sharing them with those who matter most.

Unlike other camera apps, Camera Awesome combines

  • a powerful, easy-to-use camera feature that helps you take fabulous photos and videos,

  • a creative suite of editing tools – including the one-tap Awesomize button

  • tons of filters, textures and frames

  • an integrated share function that lets you save or send your photos.

They specify which devices we can expect the app to work on right from the get-go (such as the Samsung Galaxy S3, S4, the Nexus 4, 7 and 10 (with the Nexus 5 coming soon) and additional phones and tablets being added “as time goes by”.

Unlike the iOS launch a couple of years ago, which was free with the option to pay for upgraded filters and such, Android lovers will have to cough up 3 bucks to download and use the app. I guess that’s a good deal as long as there’s no need to pay for any additional features later on.

If it takes my mobile photography to the next level, who cares what the app looks like?

One thing that called my attention was how negative some of the reviews have been on the Google Play store, where some folks are harshly criticizing Camera Awesome for not adhering to Android UI guidelines. Check out what one user had to say about this:

Android UI guidelines, read them. How about even trying to figure out the platform you’re targeting? This is an ugly, ugly iOS UI on Android. Learn the guidelines, learn writing Android apps and then come back.

I’ll tell you what, if the app works I could care less whether it looks like an iOS, a Windows Mobile or a BlackBerry app. More on this once I’ve taken it for a spin. I don’t know, but I have a feeling Camera Awesome plus the revamped SmugMug app might make a nice little mobile photography tandem. Time will tell.