Dropbox is great way to keep your files in sync or have a backup. Google Drive is out and perhaps you are planning to switch sides. Most surely you wouldn’t be willing to let go of your “hard earned” storage with Dropbox referrals. If you are looking for an alternative use for Dropbox, try using it as a private web gallery for your photos. Wondering how? Well you can always create a public(or selectively shared) folder and put some designed web pages in it and create a website to show off those images. Well if you find the task daunting, Openphoto will do all the hard work for you. All you need to do is use your Dropbox or Amazon S3 account to sign up.

Sign up for Openphoto by entering your email, opting for a unique URL and granting permission to your Dropbox or Amazon S3 storage. Once you are into it, go to the upload page and upload some of your favorite snaps. You can just drag and drop files to upload them. The upload is powered by Plupload a file uploading service. As the files are listed hit the “Start uploading” to initiate uploading.

Use the Menu at top left corner to go to the gallery or manage photos. You can create groups to add people to share photos with, which is good for creating a private network for buddies. You can also edit uploaded photos to share them with group or add tags to them for better chances of finding them.

Sadly uploading via the Dropbox desktop client is not possible which means if you add an image to the OpenPhoto folder within the Apps folder in Dropbox will not add it to your gallery. Also you cannot use Dropbox and Amazon S3 storage at the same time. The app is somewhat similar to Lightbox only Lightbox can be handled with both mobile and web interface. An app for iOS and Android for Openphoto is wanting in and would have been better to get users more willing to join.

However the network being closed, lets you create a more private page for people you choose to share with. Also the core concept behind this app is to create a social experience without letting others control your data. Your data stays with you and you have sole ownership of the photos on Dropbox(or Amazon S3) and you can take them down anytime you choose. The idea deserves credit in an age where almost every other social network is more concerned about feeding off your data or information you generate. Photo sharing being the latest startup trend, and privacy a major concern, the idea might work for people who want a network for sharing their images without the notion of being chewed for the last bit of data. I just loved it for the second choice alone. Take a look at my album if you wanna get started with how it looks.

Pinterest is a picture-based social networking site that allows you to like and comment on pictures just as you would for posts on Facebook. It has a “Pinboard” instead of the Wall, and “friends” are people with common interests. You can “follow” these people. That is the Twitter influence for you. The “pins” or posts can be shared across to Facebook too. Pins are categorized into pictures, videos, discussions, and gifts. Very sensible if you ask me. Unlike Facebook however, everything is organized into cool blocks with an image that you can like, repin, or comment on.

It has already hit 12 million unique visitors in the U.S. which is the fastest-ever growth for a new social network site. It was almost on 2 million hits in the U.K. alone. On Facebook, most of the likes come from women, which is understandable given the site’s focus on fashion, home keeping, and the likes. It’s almost like your Good Housekeeping for free. It works as a timeline app within Facebook. Read all about it on techie-buzz.

It already has more traffic coming from referrals than Google+ and is almost on par with Twitter. This is huge. You can use this site to provide you with tons of ideas on movies, clothes, decor, food, travel, and you can use it to have a few good laughs too. I loved it on sight! But first, you need to get invited. It’s on the Google’s invitation-only model. You can request for an invite on the site.

I admit that as almost every post is by a woman, there is a decidedly feminine twist to the site. But tides do change. With a neighborhood of almost 6 million users who are quite active, this medium is worth a look. Apparently, its a good medium to job hunt as well. You can create a  board for projects that you work on, and you can pin your work on it. Other people can look at your progress and you can use it as a medium to showcase your work.

Warning, this is addictive. The visual angle that this brings has a big yes from me! It is that which differentiates this site from Facebook, Twitter, and the rest.

I have to admit, I am a sucker for the visual arts. I often tell my wife that I am the reason people still spend money on billboards. I am the kind of guy that will nearly run the car off the road looking at billboard signs. You can imagine my thrill when I found a great social networking site geared towards all things visual called “Pinterest“.

Pinterest is a virtual pinboard that “lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web.” The site seeks to connect people through common interests. People post things they like that they’ve seen on the web to their “boards” and, like Twitter, people can follow your boards and you can follow theirs.

How does it work, you ask? When you first go the Pinterest website, you will be greeted with a montage of stunning images shared from all over the web. Below, you will see a picture of the main page.

You will notice that there is a button to “Request an Invite” from Pinterest. If you click this button, you will see the screen pictured below.

Shortly after submitting an invitation request, you will receive a greeting in your email with a link to sign up. You will see a screen similar to the one pictured below when you click that link. Pinterest links with an existing Facebook or Twitter account. They claim it makes it easier to find friends and share your interests. I suspect they didn’t want to reinvent the social networking wheel.

Once you have connected to your Facebook account, you are taken to a page where you can indicate certain interests that you have. If you look in the picture below, there are several categories from which to choose. Pinterest will automatically sign you up to follow certain people based on the interests that you chose. You have the option to unfollow these people at any time.

You will now have the option create pinboards of your own. Below, you will see the default suggested categories for pinboards. These are merely suggestions and you can add or delete as many as you like. Once you have added all of the pinboard categories you like, click “Create”.

Lastly, you will be given the option to install the Pinterest button to your browser. This will allow you to easily pin something to one of your boards from any website. I think this is a good idea. You don’t have to install it if you don’t want to, but then the process of adding pins is a little more manual. When you hit the Pinterest button in your browser, it automatically picks the images off of the page and gives you the choice of which image you want to pin.  Below, you will see a group of images from a website about Ayers Rock.

When you click “Pin This” on an image, you will be taken to a dialog box like the one below. You will be given the option to pick which board you want to pin the image to. You also have the options of giving it a description, mentioning Facebook friends, and adding tags. When you are ready, click “Pin It” and you are done.

Pinterest is a unique way to network with people through the sharing of images. You can make wish lists, plan a wedding, plan an interior design, and much more. Frankly, it is only limited by your imagination and creativity. I hope you enjoy using Pinterest.

I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas. Please feel free to comment below.

The HTC Incredible 2, also known as the Verizon Droid Incredible 2, is supposed to be launched soon. It will be one of the few new high end Android smartphones which will be powered by a single core processor. Other than that, the HTC Incredible 2 seems to have some really good hardware specs.

Today, images and specifications of the HTC Droid Incredible 2 have leaked out.

It will come with a 4.0 inch Super LCD display with a WVGA resolution. It will run Android 2.3 Gingerbread with the HTC Sense UI (It is running Android 2.2 Froyo, but will get a upgrade to Gingerbread before launch).

It also has an 8 MP camera with flash as well as a 1.3 MP front facing camera. It is powered by a 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM 8655 processor and offers 768 MB RAM. It also has 4 GB internal storage and has a 1450 mAh battery.

Compared to the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S 2 or the Motorola Atrix 4G, it seems a bit underpowered in terms of clock speed and RAM, but it is an impressive device nevertheless. Pricing details and launch dates should be announced soon.

via AndroidSpin

When Windows Phone 7 was first announced by Microsoft, Sony Ericsson was named as a Windows Phone 7 partner by Microsoft, along with Samsung, HTC, LG and Dell. While each of the other manufacturers have launched their Windows Phone 7 devices, Sony Ericsson still hasn’t made any move in the WP7 market.

It has been quite loyal to Android so far, ditching even Symbian in the process. Today, images have leaked out which have captured a Sony Ericsson prototype slider phone running Windows Phone 7.

The prototype is labelled “Not for Sale” and has a nice sleek design with a sliding keyboard. It seems to be running a very old build of Windows Phone 7. This is rumored to be the Sony Ericsson Julie, a phone similar to the Xperia X10 with a QWERTY keyboard, a 4 inch display and a 1 GHz processor which was scrapped after Microsoft and Sony Ericsson failed to reach an agreement about Xbox Live.

We don’t know if Sony Ericsson plans to continue to work on the prototype and launch it though, considering that it would run Xbox Live and compete with the Playstation phone – the Xperia Play. Stay tuned for more updates.

Check out these leaked images of the Sony Ericsson Windows Phone 7 phone.

via WMPowerUser

Details of the Blackberry Dakota, a smartphone styled after the Blackberry Bold, first surfaced after RIM’s Blackberry Roadmap for 2011 was leaked. Soon after, the specifications of the Blackberry Dakota and a few rendered images of it also leaked out.

Today, we have the live images of the Blackberry Dakota / Montana, rumored to be the Blackberry Bold Touch. It will be the first Blackberry phone to sport both a touchscreen display and the famed Blackberry QWERTY keyboard.

The Blackberry Dakota / Montana will run Blackberry OS 6.1. It comes with a 2.8 inch capacitive touchscreen display with a resolution of 640 x 480 pixels. It has 6.5 GB internal storage and comes with 512 MB RAM.

The Bold Touch will be slightly bigger than the Blackberry Bold, but will offer much more than its predecessor. It will also have a 5 MP camera with HD video recording, flash and image stabilization. It will offer Bluetooth, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n and NFC support. It can also act as a 3G mobile hotspot. It will be one of the slimmest Blackberry devices at just 10.5 mm.

For more details on the specifications, check out our original Blackberry Dakota Specifications post.

Head over to n4bb for more images of the Blackberry Bold Touch (Dakota / Montana)

Sony Ericsson has been one of the most loyal Android adopters. It has refused to even work on any other smartphone platform, including Windows Phone 7. It hasn’t had many hits yet, but it looks like 2011 will be a great year for Sony Ericsson.

The Xperia Play is one of the most awaited Android smartphones of the year, and the Xperia Arc is an excellent phone too. Today, details of yet another Android device by Sony Ericsson were revealed. It is the successor to the Sony Ericsson Vivaz – the Xperia Neo. It has much better hardware specs and comes with Android.

Like the Arc, it will come with a 4 inch LED backlit LCD capacitive touchscreen display with a resolution of 854 x 480 pixels. It will be powered by a 1 GHz processor, 512 MB RAM and an Adreno 205 GPU, just like the Xperia Play. It has an 8 MP camera with an Exmor R sensor and LED flash and also supports 720p video recording. It also has a nice secondary camera, either a 1.3 MP or a 2 MP one, for video calls.

It will be powered by Android 2.3 Gingerbread, the latest version of the Android OS. It will have the Timescape UI too, and will also offer HDMI out.

The Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo will be officially launched with the Xperia Play at the Mobile World Congress in February. Keep checking for more MWC updates.

via Techradar

Have you ever wondered if you could have some control over GIF animations? Like, did you ever want to pause, rewind, or run the images in slow or fast motion. Well, you can now easily do it using a simple online tool, PlayGif.com.

PlayGif.com adds functionality to animated GIFs, that includes controls for pause, reverse and speed adjustment. The website splits the image into separate frames, which can be played and controlled by the user.  This is a brilliant tool, for it provides the user better control of how the animation is played and how fast. Also, in certain situations, like this population chart, having the ability to pause or slow down the image can help immensely with analyzing the data.

To use their functionality, you’ll need to enter in the url of the gif image (as of now, you can’t upload the image on PlayGif.com. Use an image hosting site like Imgur.com to first upload the image on the Internet). Or if you plan on using the service regularly, they also have a javascript bookmarklet that can make your task much easier.

If the previously leaked Blackberry devices weren’t enough, the folks over at BGR have gone ahead and posted up another image render aside some specifications of the Storm 3. Outfitted with a relatively large 3.7″ 480×800 resolution screen, one can only hope that RIM has decided to drop their “SurePress” technology and run with a regular “non buttoned” capacitive screen for ease of use to regular consumers. Along with the other “next generation” Blackberry devices, the Storm 3 packs new internals, supports “3G Mobile Hotspot” as well as the OpenGL standard and should also be shipping with OS 6.1.

Blackberry Storm 3 Specifications

1.2GHz processor
3.7-inch 800 x 480 capacitive display
Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE
Tri-band UMTS/HSPA
5-megapixel camera with 720p video recording
8GB eMMC (storage for apps and data), 512MB of RAM
microSD slot
Magnetometer
Proximity sensor
Accelerometer
Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
2.4GHz b/g/n and 5GHz a/n Wi-Fi + UMA
3G Mobile hotspot
Optical trackpad
1230 mAh battery

Via BGR

With the news of the impending launch of the Blackberry Tablet and leaked images of the Blackberry Storm 3, here’s another interesting piece of news for Blackberry lovers.

The Blackberry Bold 9780, the next phone in the Bold series, has been spotted a few times already. Yesterday, it was spotted once again, in Vietnam, of all places.

It looks very similar to the Blackberry Bold R020, details of which we uncovered last month.

The hardware will me more or less the same as the Bold 9700. It will have a 624 MHz processor, 512 MB RAM and a 2.44 inch display with a resolution of 480 x 360 pixels. It will also have a 5 MP camera and will run the new Blackberry OS 6.0. It will sport the standard connectivity options – 3G HSDPA, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS.

Do check out this hands-on video:

Source via BGR