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tag photo apps

Ninja Camera: Japan’s top iPhone photo app is perfect for perverts

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Ninja Camera is a very sneaky iPhone app from Japan which is intended to let the users take photos without anyone noticing. It was released this week, and has been ranked number one in the photo and video category since then [1], so it’s certainly popular with at least a few people. As you can see in our demo video above, Ninja Camera has three stealthy shooting modes: Silent camera mode: The normal viewfinder is displayed, but when you take a photo, there isn’t any shutter sound. Note that in Japan, camera phones are required to make this noise, although many apps allow users to get around this. Hidden camera mode: This is perhaps the most nefarious feature, as your camera’s screen shows fully functioning web browser, with a tiny camera viewfinder in the bottom corner. So even if someone is watching over your shoulder, it appears as though you are innocently browsing the web – when you are actually snapping photos [2]. Dark camera mode: This shooting mode blacks out the entire screen, making it appear as though your phone is off. But there are faintly visible shutter buttons on the bottom, letting you continue to snap off pictures….

Ninja Camera is a very sneaky iPhone app from Japan which is intended to let the users take photos without anyone noticing. It was released this week, and has been ranked number one in the photo and video category since then [1], so it’s certainly popular with at least a few people.

As you can see in our demo video above, Ninja Camera has three stealthy shooting modes:

  • Silent camera mode: The normal viewfinder is displayed, but when you take a photo, there isn’t any shutter sound. Note that in Japan, camera phones are required to make this noise, although many apps allow users to get around this.
  • Hidden camera mode: This is perhaps the most nefarious feature, as your camera’s screen shows fully functioning web browser, with a tiny camera viewfinder in the bottom corner. So even if someone is watching over your shoulder, it appears as though you are innocently browsing the web – when you are actually snapping photos [2].
  • Dark camera mode: This shooting mode blacks out the entire screen, making it appear as though your phone is off. But there are faintly visible shutter buttons on the bottom, letting you continue to snap off pictures.

Back in 2011 when such photo applications started to become more of a problem, an Apple Japan representative was cited by the Yomiuri Shimbun as saying that “There’s no problem as long as the developer’s stated purpose for the app doesn’t go against social ethics.”

In Ninja Camera’s app description, the developer of Ninja camera lists three example purposes for its stealthy app: shooting a sleeping baby, taking pictures of pets sensitive to sound, and taking photos in a quiet place. Ultimately, I think the responsibility does lie with the user. But in my view, an app like Ninja Camera definitely looks like it was intentionally designed for snapping covert pictures of unsuspecting ladies. If you look at one of the app’s promo photo (below and to the right) it shows a photo taken of a lady from behind — so the intent isn’t really even obscured here — even though it’s not explicitly stated.

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  1. I write this post on a Friday, so it has been released for four days now.  ↩

  2. A little digging shows that some other applications have this function, including the similarly named Private Ninja Cam.  ↩

Yahoo Japan’s Face Stealer app transforms you into Obama, or anyone else you’d like to be

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Yahoo Japan (TYO:4689) has just released a very clever application called Face Stealer. It’s a fun camera app that lets you choose from an assortment of masks, including the Mona Lisa, US president Barack Obama, and a few others. I gave the app a quick run through, trying out the Obama mask and dog mask, and it works pretty well — although it is a little bit spooky (see my video above). Interestingly, users can also create their own masks to add to the list, simply by taking a photo of your friend and then wearing their face as a mask. Or you can select photos from your camera roll to create masks from. While posing in your favorite mask, you can take shapshots to share to Facebook and Twitter, or even video to share to Facebook and YouTube. It’s a fun little novelty photo app which I encourage you to try, especially if you’re feeling a little presidential. You can get it for free over on Apple’s App Store.

Yahoo Japan (TYO:4689) has just released a very clever application called Face Stealer. It’s a fun camera app that lets you choose from an assortment of masks, including the Mona Lisa, US president Barack Obama, and a few others. I gave the app a quick run through, trying out the Obama mask and dog mask, and it works pretty well — although it is a little bit spooky (see my video above).

Interestingly, users can also create their own masks to add to the list, simply by taking a photo of your friend and then wearing their face as a mask. Or you can select photos from your camera roll to create masks from.

While posing in your favorite mask, you can take shapshots to share to Facebook and Twitter, or even video to share to Facebook and YouTube.

It’s a fun little novelty photo app which I encourage you to try, especially if you’re feeling a little presidential. You can get it for free over on Apple’s App Store.

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How Japan’s SnapDish app catered to foreign foodies

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Many mobile applications from Japan aspire to reach a global audience. The food photo and recipe-sharing mobile app SnapDish is an example of such app. And so far, it has fared well. Up until now it has been available in four languages: Japanese, English, Chinese (simplified and traditional), and Korean. But it recently announced the addition of seven more: French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Indonesian, and Thai. Snapdish now potentially supports three billion people speaking those eleven languages around the world. The app, which lets cooking enthusiasts edit and share food photos, was launched in May 2011. To date it has cataloged more than 1.7 million pictures, with more than 10 million Yummies (similar to a Facebook’s Like function). SnapDish is getting more and more popular, mainly among people who cook at home. They are able to connect with a wide range of people and chat about cooking through photos and recipes. We recently spoke to a SnapDish representative in charge of language support. His comments follow below. SnapDish on going global SnapDish representative: When developing and designing the app, which we launched in May of 2011, we had overseas users in mind from the very beginning and we planned…

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Many mobile applications from Japan aspire to reach a global audience. The food photo and recipe-sharing mobile app SnapDish is an example of such app. And so far, it has fared well.

Up until now it has been available in four languages: Japanese, English, Chinese (simplified and traditional), and Korean. But it recently announced the addition of seven more: French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Indonesian, and Thai. Snapdish now potentially supports three billion people speaking those eleven languages around the world.

The app, which lets cooking enthusiasts edit and share food photos, was launched in May 2011. To date it has cataloged more than 1.7 million pictures, with more than 10 million Yummies (similar to a Facebook’s Like function).

SnapDish is getting more and more popular, mainly among people who cook at home. They are able to connect with a wide range of people and chat about cooking through photos and recipes. We recently spoke to a SnapDish representative in charge of language support. His comments follow below.

SnapDish on going global

SnapDish representative: When developing and designing the app, which we launched in May of 2011, we had overseas users in mind from the very beginning and we planned to launch its English and Japanese versions at the same time. So with the intention of having an English user interface, instead of simply translating the context literally, we designed the app so it would be easy to use for both Japanese and non-Japanese users.

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We also paid close attention to whether or not English expressions in the app sound fun for English users. For example, there is a button called Mogu Mogu in the Japanese version. This works like Facebook’s Like button and users can click it when they like other users’ photos. But in the English version, this button is instead labeled Yummy. Whereas Mogu mogu translates more literally into English as nom nom or chomp chomp, but since such expressions are not as friendly or appealing in English, SnapDish chose the more natural-sounding Yummy. We are taking equal care to use natural expressions as we expand into other languages.

As a result, the application has been regularly downloaded overseas since its initial release. The app gained many users, particularly in Southeast Asia and Chinese-speaking regions, and we quickly learned that it’s not only Japanese foodies, but also folks in other Asian countries like the combination of food and photos.

Even after launching apps, we figure out users’ needs and try to meet those them. For example, genres that can be tagged on pictures are customized to each countries’ food culture. Since the application was developed from the very beginning with foreign users in mind, many users overseas regularly report that they didn’t realize that the application was Japanese. American users often assume that it was developed in an English-speaking country. Such feedback confirms that even foreign users can use the application seamlessly.

Building the business

SnapDish representative: Last year, we expanded our service further by partnering with large foreign companies such as China’s Renren.com and Korea’s SK Planet. Thanks to these partnerships we realized that there are many people who think the SnapDish app can meet the needs of Asian consumers, and that our service can add value.

Also, we actively applied for overseas startup pitch events last year and participated in Singapore’s Echelon in June, Taiwan’s IDEAS Show in July, and GMIC-SV which was held in San Jose, USA, in October. At those events, we not only made presentations but also set up our booth in venues, so we were able to talk with existing overseas users and build our network. We were even interviewed by foreign media companies, so it was very beneficial from a promotional standpoint as well.

We were well-received especially in Asia, and we had a chance to pitch at Echelon as one of the top 10 startups selected from six Asian countries. We asked an event organizer about the reason why we were selected, and we were told that we differentiated our app from other food photo apps with a home-cooking feature, and that it was great that we had developed a monetization plan.

What’s next for SnapDish?

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SnapDish rep: While still paying attention to details in the app, we are looking to provide promotional and communication features that fit in with each local market. For example, we are planning to launch our gift campaign, which is only available in Japan at the moment, to foreign markets.

We continue to put our priority on Asia for our international business. Of course, it doesn’t mean that other regions such as Europe are not important. In Asia, we have already established a substantial user base and are forming a community there. We are already well-grounded in the Asian market, so we would like to solidify that market position.

We also want to continue to take part in pitch events abroad, and at the same time, just like we promoted our service in Asia last year, we are looking for a chance to do the same in Europe as well.

If you want to download SnapDish, you can get it here for iOS and Android.

(Photo: e27)

Japan’s top photo app ‘Transform Camera’ delivers disguises on demand

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I’m really enjoying all the fun photo applications coming out of Japan recently, and one in particular caught my eye, as it has been Japan’s top ranked iOS photo app for about a week now. It’s called Transform Camera (or in Japanese ‘Henshin Camera‘) and it essentially provides a digital version of those head-in-hole tourist photo stands that you often see while traveling. It provides about 150 disguises to choose from in total, and more are expected to be coming soon. So far the photo frames include a pirate costume (ala Johnny Depp from Pirates of the Caribbean), a French maid outfit, a wide selection of kimono and traditional dress, and even a pair of crossed light sabers just waiting for two pairs of hands to pose with them. Applying the frames is dead simple, as the app comes with some facial recognition tries to position the frame over the person’s face. Once you’ve taken your photo, you can save it to your camera roll, or then share it to your favorite social network. Interestingly, eje Inc — the company behind Transform Camera — says it might add location-specific frames in the future. I imagine how this would work is…

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I’m really enjoying all the fun photo applications coming out of Japan recently, and one in particular caught my eye, as it has been Japan’s top ranked iOS photo app for about a week now. It’s called Transform Camera (or in Japanese ‘Henshin Camera‘) and it essentially provides a digital version of those head-in-hole tourist photo stands that you often see while traveling. It provides about 150 disguises to choose from in total, and more are expected to be coming soon.

So far the photo frames include a pirate costume (ala Johnny Depp from Pirates of the Caribbean), a French maid outfit, a wide selection of kimono and traditional dress, and even a pair of crossed light sabers just waiting for two pairs of hands to pose with them. Applying the frames is dead simple, as the app comes with some facial recognition tries to position the frame over the person’s face.

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Once you’ve taken your photo, you can save it to your camera roll, or then share it to your favorite social network.

Interestingly, eje Inc — the company behind Transform Camera — says it might add location-specific frames in the future. I imagine how this would work is that once you visit a certain area or landmark, then a specific photo decoration would be unlocked. This feature could be a great addition, especially if eje Inc develops a deep repertoire of available frames, corresponding to major landmarks around the world. But we’ll have to wait and see what they come up with.

You can download Transform Camera over on the App Store. While all the descriptive text is in Japanese, the app’s interface is mostly in English and really simple to use.

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The Japanese iPhone app that’s taking out trash one photo at a time

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Pirika is a smartphone app that encourages you to clean up your environment. The concept involves sharing a picture of what you cleaned up, so that other users can cheer you on, and keep your motivation high to clean up more. The startup recently announced that the total amount of pictures posted to the service now exceeds 100,000 (as of January). Pirika was originally launched in May of 2011 by Kyoto University graduate Fujio Kojima (CEO) and his friend Ryota Ayaki (CTO). They were inspired by environmental preservation activities that leveraged the community, like UC Berkley’s NGO, the Watershed Project; or Japan’s Sports Gomi-Hiroi (scavenger hunting) Association. They developed the app in order to help make the world a cleaner place by adding an element of gamification to cleaning activities. The startup is analyzing the information collected through the app (i.e. what users have picked up on the streets) and that information is passed on to public sanitation authorities so that they might improving their services. The Pirika founders believe their service could even be monetized via corporate sponsorship from companies interested in improving their corporate social responsibility (CSR). Currently the app is available in English, Japanese, and traditional Chinese…

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Pirika is a smartphone app that encourages you to clean up your environment. The concept involves sharing a picture of what you cleaned up, so that other users can cheer you on, and keep your motivation high to clean up more. The startup recently announced that the total amount of pictures posted to the service now exceeds 100,000 (as of January).

Pirika was originally launched in May of 2011 by Kyoto University graduate Fujio Kojima (CEO) and his friend Ryota Ayaki (CTO). They were inspired by environmental preservation activities that leveraged the community, like UC Berkley’s NGO, the Watershed Project; or Japan’s Sports Gomi-Hiroi (scavenger hunting) Association. They developed the app in order to help make the world a cleaner place by adding an element of gamification to cleaning activities.

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The startup is analyzing the information collected through the app (i.e. what users have picked up on the streets) and that information is passed on to public sanitation authorities so that they might improving their services. The Pirika founders believe their service could even be monetized via corporate sponsorship from companies interested in improving their corporate social responsibility (CSR).

Currently the app is available in English, Japanese, and traditional Chinese for both iOS and Android. The startup has not disclosed how many users they’ve acquired, but they’ve got ‘scavenging postings’ from 62 countries all around the world. The app was named after a word in the Ainu language word (etupirka) given to the tufted puffin, a bird known for grooming often and keeping clean at at all times.

From right: CEO Fujio Kojima and CTO Ryota
From right: Fujio Kojima (CEO) and Ryota Ayaki (CTO)