Floating Image for Android Will Make Sure You Are Kept Busy
By: Hillel Fuld
One of the problems with the Android platform as opposed to let’s say (and I am just picking another random mobile OS) the iPhone, is its lack of rich multimedia capabilities. I mean, the Android video and music player as well as its photo viewer is not as primitive as BlackBerry’s, but it is also no homerun.
However, the thing with Android is, no need take anything you do not like, just replace it. I have already replaced my device’s home screen, default keyboard, music player, and as of today, I will be using Floating Image instead of the default photo viewer.
The developers of Floating Image do not get too much credit for coming up with an original name for their app, but they do get major props for developing an app that looks great, is simple to operate, and functions perfectly even on a mobile device with a relatively weak processor.
The concept is simple. Instead of looking through your pictures one by one by pressing on that lame Next arrow in Android, you open Floating Image and you begin to see all your photos floating across the screen. Now, here is the thing. When I say “Your photos”, I do not just mean the photos on your phone, you can also view online pictures in Flickr straight from within the app.
I would have liked to see the ability to add your various online photo storage accounts, such as Picasa or even Facebook, but you can’t have it all I guess. So, the pictures float across your screen and you can press on a picture to view it full size, then press it again to go back to the floating pictures. You can easily set a picture from Flickr as your wallpaper or save the picture to the phone by pressing on the photo for two seconds.
The interface is almost non existent with your options being limited to defining which directories the app uses to find pictures as well as the ability to disable Flickr pictures. As the title says, Floating Image will keep you occupied while you sit back and watch a visually appealing 3D presentation of your photos. The app worked well even though I was using it on a Samsung Galaxy, which is significantly less powerful than the Nexus or Droid, so I am sure it works beautifully on those phones.
There really is not much else to say about Floating Image besides the fact that it is a great little concept, which if tweaked slightly with the addition of various online services can actually become of one my top Android apps. As of now, it will remain installed in the very little application memory on my Samsung Galaxy, and I will wait patiently till the next update arrives.
Our Rating: 3.5/5
Developer: Mark Gjøl
