Photo app of the week: Pixlr-o-matic

— -- Pixlr-o-matic is a free photo editing app for Android and iOS devices that lets you apply a number of pre-rendered effects, frames, and filters to photos that are either taken with your camera or already present on your phone.

From Autodesk, Pixlr-o-matic can also be used right in your browser, added on Facebook, or installed as a Chrome Web app on Chrome browsers. As far as we can tell, the only differences between the various versions are the design of the interface and interaction between the app and your respective platform's camera.

On the Android version, the app is able to launch a camera app (either your default or another app), or you can pull a file off your device. Once you've designated a file for editing, the app presents you with a long strip (like a filmstrip), with filters laid out horizontally. You can add a single filter or multiple filters, with options for overlays and borders as well.

The filters and overlays themselves are quite good, though they rely on the same washed out effects that pop up in every app of this type. There are only so many photos that can benefit from having a double exposure, though we do think the ones included with Pixlr-o-matic are among the best we've seen.

Our one complaint about the app's design on Android is the lack of labels on many of the options. When you're editing a photo you're presented with five icons: a back arrow, a film strip, a light bulb, a frame, and a save option. It takes some experimentation before realizing what the film, bulb, and frame icons actually represent.

The app also only comes with a limited selection of filters and frames, though you can easily and quickly download a wider variety of packs. There's no easy way to organize these options, unfortunately, so downloading too many packs can quickly crowd the app's interface.

Of all the app's features we liked the shuffle mode the best. By pressing the shuffle symbol while editing, the app will randomly select one of the filters to apply to the photo. It appears to just grab whatever filters are handy (whether they're film, overlays, or borders), but it is an easy and quick way to alter your photos in the popular Instagram style.

We'd recommend checking out the app if you want an alternative to other creative photo editing apps. While it doesn't offer the level of control you'd want from a more sophisticated app like Photoshop, it does offer a different way of altering your photos.

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