I stumbled across Bottled by accident, and at its core, it's a communication app - though it could be used for dating, too. The adverts might be a little sleazy here and there, but that's down to a slight identity crisis. While the app could be used for nefarious purposes, in my time with it I've found that the userbase is made up of people who wouldn't dream of spreading negativity or trolling. But what is the app? And what does it actually do?
There's no escaping Snapchat. Not only is it the dominant force among free photo-sharing apps at the moment, it's also increasingly become the app of choice for text messaging among teens and young adults. After all, why use a separate app for messaging when you can do it from the same one you use to share images and videos too?
That said, there is life beyond Snapchat. A number of free iPhone and iPad apps are out there that allow users to easily communicate with friends and loved ones without necessarily needing to download the current industry leader. Let's take a look at five of them that are currently popular on the App Store charts.
One of the many surprisingly useful features of the Apple Watch is the way in which we can see, respond to, or ignore text messages without having to use an iPhone. Seeing and ignoring are pretty self-explanatory, but it’s possible to respond in one of three ways: dial-an-emoticon, pick from a list of prefab phrases, or use dictation to respond directly. Problem is, sometimes none of those options is exactly what you’ll need. That’s why it can be handy to have your own custom set of prefab responses ready to go.
iPhone App - Designed for iPhone, compatible with iPad
There's a new way to leave notes for your friends and loved ones called Shotnote. You can use it to take aphoto or video and tag it to a specific location.
+Universal & Apple Watch App - Designed for iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch
You'll be able to get your Line2 cloud phone service on the Apple Watch very soon. The watch app can send and receive messages using hands-free voice dictation, or by selecting from a list of provided responses.
iPhone App - Designed for iPhone, compatible with iPad
Sometimes you want to tell someone they are awesome or congratulate them for doing something you respect. With Outpour you can anonymously write kind messages to anyone who inspires you, without making that person feel like they have to reciprocate. You'll be able to receive, reply to, and discuss messages anonymously, and spread some much-needed joy to others.
"Gratitude and positivity are extremely beneficial for individuals, both emotionally and physically, as well as for society as a whole," said Calvin Liu, founder of Outpour. "Yet expressing gratitude is not a daily habit, and we rarely take the time to do it. Expressing gratitude has social and reputational costs, so we created Outpour to encourage kind words by harnessing the power of anonymity to loosen lips."
You can download Outpour for free on the App Store today.
iPhone App - Designed for iPhone, compatible with iPad
Vapor Communications has unveiled oSnap: a messaging app that allows users to tag photos with scents. The photos tagged with the scents, called oNotes, can then be sent and received via Facebook, Twitter and e-mail, with receivers able to smell their messages at select locations in New York and Paris.
In order to tag a photo with a scent, users are presented with 32 unique scents from which they can pick up to eight, resulting in over 300,000 possible different combinations. Upon receiving an oNote, users can look up the image and the associated scents on the website and send the scents to a nearby oPhone - the device used for smelling the scents - via Bluetooth.
David Edwards, founder and CEO of Vapor Communications, had this to say:
oPhone introduces a new kind of sensory experience into mobile messaging – a form of communication that until now has remained consigned to our immediate local experience of the world. With the oPhone, people will be able to share with anyone, anywhere, not just words, images, and sounds, but sensory experience itself.
Hop, the email app that turns your messages into a natural chat conversation, has further added to its arsenal with the addition of Hop Groups. Users can now chat with any circle of friends, with a continuous, searchable timeline and no need to sort through the mess of a long email thread. Gone are the days where messages are easily missed, thanks to the chaos of so many replies.
It's easy to set up group emailing with the option of including text, pictures, links, documents, drawings, and even video and audio, to the conversation. The latest update also includes some other improvements upon the pre-existing service.
SHAPE has placed its messaging app IM+ Pro7 on sale for a limited time.
IM+ Pro7 is a cross-platform offering that gives users the ability to pull in chats from other messaging services (like Facebook, Twitter, ICQ, Skyme, AIM, etc) and serves as a universal base on mobile devices.
We reviewed IM+ Pro7 not too long ago; it is available on sale for $1.99 on the App Store.
Our rating: :: ESSENTIAL SOCIAL NETWORKING :: Read Review »
Facebook announced today an update to the Facebook app, with features added to both the iPhone and iPad for this universal app. You'll get to multi-task in Facebook, even if you're chatting with a friend, via Chat Heads, as well as some fun Stickers that you can buy and add to messages. Plus, the news feed has been redesigned with a cleaner look. Check it out on the App Store now.
What's New in Version 6.0
Brand new ways to chat and a cleaner look for News Feed.
New for iPhone
• Keep chatting from anywhere in the app with chat heads
• Send stickers to bring your messages to life
• Explore new feeds like Music, Photos and Games
New for iPad
• Keep chatting from anywhere in the app with chat heads
• Browse brighter, more beautiful stories
Chat heads and stickers will be available to everyone over the next few weeks.