[App Fridays] XpressOn - A neat photo editor app. Will you use this over others?

So how many times have you touched up that picture you wanted to use as your profile picture of Facebook? Made yourself thinner, or fairer or even coloured your hair using Photoshop without actually doing it in a parlour. If this sounds all too familiar then our App Friday will be of much interest to you. XpressOn is a dedicated photo editing app, with a host of filters, frames and effects and has all the makings of a complete photo editing solution, all in the palm of your hand.

Will this be your one stop photo editing solution? Read on to know more.

What is it about?

With XpressOn, you can take a photograph and apply filter effects, frames and effects. So this photo can be a new one you shot with

your camera or any existing pictures you have in your gallery. XpressOn has a comprehensive list of filters and effects that can be overlayed, one on top of the other. The app has also kept the platform open to designers around the world, who can add more effects and filters.Besides adding effects, XpressOn can also enhance the original image. So you have the option of changing brightness, contrasts, bias etc using the advanced functions.

Apart from this, the app also has social sharing features.

Is it really a photo editor?

To be honest, calling XpressOn a photo editing app will be pushing it too far. Desktop photo editing software like Photoshop or even MS Paint gives the user lot more functionalities. They allow users to apply effects to even smaller sections of an image, which is not the case with XpressOn. Using XpressOn, you cannot edit or enhance parts of an image. All effects and enhancements apply to the entire image and you don't have a choice.However comprehensive the list of effects that XpressOn currently has, it isn’t a complete photo editing app yet. The main thing that is stopping XpressOn from being at par with Photoshop or MS Word is the missing localized editing capability.

Pros and Cons

XpressOn’s biggest pro’s lies in its functions -

• The number of things this app can do to an image is a definite pro. Once you get the hang of
• applying effects and filters, XpressOn can actually be a really good time killer. And while you’re at it, it can also generate some great photos. (which was a rarity with me at least)
• Some of the preset filters on this app almost work like magic. Photos taken in bad lighting, or slightly blurred pictures are completely changed using the auto correct filter.

It does have some major flaws -

• For an app that aims to improve the aesthetics of photos, the app looks a little primitive. Images on the icons, to the typography can be a lot crisper. XpressOn can definitely do with a UI/UX makeover.
• On more than one occasion, while applying more than one filter or effect, the app has crashed.

Our Take

The app is a great photo filter/effects app and has the functions to stand on its own feet being so. Pivoting into a social sharing/networking app can be the worst thing that can happen to this app. Everyone wants pretty pictures of themselves online and XpressOn is an app that can help people out here.The front end of this app also needs working on. However good the function of the app is, a stale front end, such as the one XpressOn has, will deter users from using it. Apart from this, there are performance issues as well.

Another thing working against it is that there are just too many apps such as XpressOn in the market which are more established and have a larger following. This is where a distinct look and feel can play a difference.

Overall, the app does need some work on it. But given the early stage of this app, I think its passable. It does its function pretty well.

Download XpressOn here.