WP App Review : Instagraph

Instagraph (Version 1.0)
Venetasoft
$2.49

After a long wait, there's finally a Windows Phone app which lets you upload photos to Instagram. The initial release was plagued by two main problems. First, uploading a photo would send it into a queue, causing it not to be so "insta" in terms of sharing your photo. It would take anywhere from 5 minutes to up to 30 minutes for the photo to show up on your photostream. Second, the photo that actually appears on your photostream would sometimes not be yours. Venetasoft quickly pulled the app and shut down the servers to work on a fix and have recently updated it.

Nokia "1314" Firmware Update

Nokia has pushed out another firmware update (1314) today for AT&T users, just over a week after it's "1308" firmware update was rolled out. Many users were complaining of connectivity issues and the change log Nokia has provided seems to address this issue. The official firmware release is 1232.5962.1314.0001.

WP App Review : LazyLens

LazyLens (Version 1.9)

Capsule Digital

Free

There's no question that there are a handful of these photo filter apps available and LazyLens can be added to that growing list. It provides you the option of applying several different filters to your photograph in a simple and effective user interface and if you're a fan of this style, LazyLens is certainly one of the better ones out there.

WP App Preview : Instagraph

The long-awaited third-party Instagram application, Instagraph, finally hit the marketplace, but in less than a day has already failed miserably. Linking your pre-existing Instagram account was easy enough (sorry, no new account creation for now) and I would've loved to test out the app more thoroughly, but  the developers turned off the upload and have temporarily removed the app from the marketplace.

Lumia 920 Firmware Update for AT&T

AT&T rolled out the newest firmware update for Nokia Lumia 920 users (firmware 1308) on March 26th, 2013. Included in this firmware are a bunch of fixes including but not limited to "proximity sensor parameters, improved automatic display brightness adjustment, and performance improvements." Camera performance is also said to be improved and as seen in the image above, a storage tool is now included.

WP App Review : SophieLens for Nokia

SophieLens for Nokia (Version 1.0.0.3)

Nokia Corporation

Free

SophieLens for Nokia is a photo app which adds the current fad of "photo filters" to your snapshots. SophieLens is available in a PRO version for $0.99 but Nokia provides it's users with a free version. The default "Standard" filter pack includes Cinematic, Flare, Mayfair, Roid, and XPro filters. But Nokia offers an additional "Lomo" filter pack for it's users for free.

WP App Review : #2InstaWithLove

#2InstaWithLove (Version 2.0)

Nokia Corporation

Free

A majority of current WP8 users as well as those contemplating on switching to a WP8 device usually want one major app in the Windows Phone ecoysystem - Instagram. Instagram is obviously a popular service and the lack of it's availability on WP8 deters new users. Sure, there are those who couldn't care less. They don't use the service and often argue that there are several alternatives in adding these "hipster" photo filters. But the reality is that it's not the mainstream photo filters that makes Instagram what it is, but the social aspect of connecting with your friends just like Facebook. If your friends aren't using whatever alternative you decide to use, then it would be pointless.

Gesture Music Player's newest update makes it near perfect

Gesture Music Player was reviewed just under a week ago and if you've read the review, you'll know that when the app first hit the market about a month ago, I made some suggestions to the developer in the MSFT marketplace review. The first update included many of the features I had asked for. I again made some more suggestions after the first update and in just under a week the developer has updated it again to fix some of the problems and other features I wanted to see.

WP App Review : UC Browser

UC Browser (Version 2.8.1.269)

广州市动景计算机科技

Free

UC Browser is an app developed by a Chinese software company which makes mobile web browsers. When I first picked up my Lumia 920, I found Internet Explorer to be a bit lackluster in user interface and features. I searched for different web browsers and tried out UC Browser late last year, but at the time, it was a bit slow. Browsing through the marketplace, I came up on this app again and decided to give it another try. The newer update seems to improve on speeds and after giving it a second try, it's a lot more efficient.

WP App Review : Gesture Music Player

NOTE: This review has been updated at the bottom

SECOND NOTE : This app's developer has changed from Red Queen to Laukik.

Please scroll to the bottom for updated information and review.

Gesture Music Player (Version 2.5)

Red Queen

Free

Previously known as Car Music Player, Gesture Music Player is as the name suggests, a music player which is controlled based on on-screen gestures.When Gesture Music Player first released in early February 2013, it was called Car Music Player. Since this was a new release, I was hoping that the developer would update it to make it more user friendly, and the newest updates takes it one step closer to becoming a great gesture based music player such as Fluxtunes or the now discontinued Flicktunes found on iOS.