Google 'Appsperiments' Test Three New Mobile Photography Tools

Google has taken the wraps off what it calls "appsperiments," an awkward moniker for a trio of new experimental apps that all center around mobile photography. These apps were designed to help explore "the potentials of mobile photography," says Google, which calls its new apps Storyboard, Selfissimo!, and Scrubbies. Each name refers to the app's primary function, though you won't be able to use all three on the same device.

Storyboard is an experimental photography app that is exclusively available for Android, offering users a way to create what appear to be single-page comic layouts using their mobile photos. This is done more or less automatically, including desaturating the images so that they look like ink drawings, as well as offering five other visual styles.

Joining Storyboard is Selfissimo!, an automated selfie photographer, according to Google. This app experiment is available for both Android and iOS, and it works by automating the self-taking process. The user taps the screen, then stikes a bunch of poses. Selfissimo! automatically captures those poses in a stylish black-and-white design.

Finally, there's Scrubbies, the name referring to the app's big function: scrubbing through a video in order to adjust its playback. Google describes this as working sort of in the same way a DJ scratches a record. The user drags the video back and forth at different speeds; the app then creates a loop from it that maintains those movements for others to view.

Google is soliciting feedback from users within the apps, and indicates that it will be launching other "appsperiments" in the future. You can view the apps in action via the link below, where you'll also find downloads for all three apps.

SOURCE: Google Blog