The Pokemon Company has partnered with Snap Inc. to launch a custom Pikachu Snapchat filter for a limited time. Starting today, Snapchat users and Pokemon fans who use the filter will see Pikachu’s ears, nose, and bright-red cheeks appear over their face. Then, they can open their mouth to hear Pikachu’s iconic voice as it jumps onto the screen and strikes a pose.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Snap Inc.'s will be releasing its first wearable product which comes equipped with a camera that can record 10-second videos. It should be noted that the results don't look your typical videos shot with phones or action cams. The glasses can sync with your phone wirelessly, making anything it takes easy to share online. Snap Inc. will release Spectacles this fall for $130, but only a limited number of pairs will be available. The company wants to proceed slowly in order to get a feel of how people like it, and probably to see how well the initial stocks sell, before making more.
Instagram now includes camera features thank to an update for both iOS and Android. Instagram now lets you swipe up and down to zoom while you're recording a video, similar to that “other” social app. The iOS version also lets you double tap to switch cameras in mid-clip. What do you think of this update ?
It looks like Instagram is copying one of Snapchat's most popular features: stories. "Instagram Stories" allows you to post as many photos and videos as you'd like in a slideshow format. You won't have to worry about them being in your Instagram feed, as the stories will disappear in 24 hours (where have I seen this before ?). You'll find stories from friends and popular accounts in a navigation bar at the top of your Instagram feed. Once you tap one, you can move back and forth through the slideshows at your own pace. You’ll only be able to send a private message to the author with Instagram Stories. I don’t see why some people are complaining that Instagram copied Snapchat. No everyone has Snapchat and this is a great way for people to experience those types of features. What do you think ?
A new year a new Call of Duty title.The first legitimate hint at the next game has appeared in the strangest of places, Snapchat. Youtuber Drift0r identified new symbols that have appeared on a poster in the Black Ops 2 multiplayer maps Express and Plaza. The symbols are actually QR codes that can be used in the Snapchat app to add users. The QR in the game can add Call of Duty account to Snapchat. The video below was captured by a user on Twitter that can be seen on Call of Duty’s Snapchat. What do you think of this news ? Black Ops 3 confirmed ?
Snapchats latest update adds SnapCash,which is a money transfer service that allows users to quickly send money to one another by simply sending a message. SnapCash is a project between Snapchat and Square, this uses the SquareCash concept. SquareCash allows users to send money via email, text message and Bluetooth. SnapCash can be accessed within the Chat feature. Just enter a $ sign and then a numeric value to indicate that you are sending cash directly from your bank account.
Microsoft has released a messaging apps like Snapchat through Skype. The company has launched a new cross platform app for iOS, Android, and Windows Phone called Skype Qik. You can record a quick video, and then share it to either one person in your address book or multiple groups of people. The App is video focused, and Skype is positioning it as a communication tool for in between full scale Skype video chats. The whole service is connected to your phone number and existing contacts list, so it doesn’t require signing up with a standard Skype account. If you send a message via Qik to a user without the Qik app, the other person will be sent an SMS text message with instructions for downloading the Qik app to view the video message. By default videos will expire after two weeks, and you can also unsend messages at any time. A cool feature of Skype Qik is the ability to pre record various 5 second GIFs that you can send as instant replies. So, if you don’t have the ability to send a live video reply, you can just choose one of your pre record defaults. The app is free and you can download it today. Microsoft says that updates, such as one for blocking iPhone contacts will come often to enhance the feature set.
