Snapbucket Kicks the Bucket: The Photobucket That Is

Camera-hogs, mirror lurkers, and photogenics everywhere rejoice! Snapbucket, an Android app by the ever-popular photo sharing site Photobucket, has landed in the Android Market. The app offers a wealth of (mostly functional) features to appease your every photo-customization need and then some.

Function

If you are at all familiar with quick photo editing sites like Picnik, you’ll have a pretty good handle on what Snapbucket has to offer. The app allows users to take a quick snapshot using their phone’s camera, and then edit that photo in more ways than you can shake a stick at. Snapbucket includes a steamy array of sets, filters, effects, vignettes and frames for you to choose from, and if you find a combination you like, you can save it as a fully-customized set for use on later pics. Using the in-app effects, it’s extremely easy to create interesting shots, and I was impressed with the apps performance on my phone. With one interesting exception, that is:

No matter how I prodded, Snapbucket would not recognize my phone’s camera. There aren’t any settings to speak of, leaving me dumbfounded and shutter-less. I could still import photos from my gallery, but this felt like a compromise I wasn’t ready to make. If it’s my hardware, I understand: Android is a diverse universe indeed. However, no matter how many cool effects the app sports, Snapbucket hasn’t got much going for it without camera functionality.

Design and Productivity

Thankfully, Photobucket has done a bang-up job designing the app. It looks fantastic on my phone, and navigating menus was easy as pie. Selecting effects worked smoothly, as well, and I appreciated the fact that stylizing elements were separated by type. Going back to the camera is as easy as pushing a button, and saving a photo is equally as simple. However, you won’t be able to save photos directly to your gallery, which irked my chain a bit. Once finished, all photos are automatically saved to Photobucket, which is a large pain if you aren’t much of a Photobucket user. However, photos can be sent via Twitter, Facebook, and email, which was convenient.

Overall Value

Perhaps the biggest boon for Snapbucket is its price: Absolutely nothing. Even setting up a Photobucket account is free-as-in-air. Combined with truly cool effects and a well-designed interface, I’m willing to overlook the app’s bothersome flaws to give it a full five stars in this category. If you’re looking to edit some quick photos—and can get the camera to work—Snapbucket easily has everything you need. And at a nothing-to-lose price, it’d be hard not to recommend the app for, at the least, a new Facebook profile pic. Future updates will hopefully fix the bugs, but in the interim, don’t hesitate to give Snapbucket a go.

Android Apps Review Details: Snapbucket Android app is free. This app requires Android 2.1 and up. You may download Snapbucket from the Android Market.