We love Pinterest, we love Instagram, but did we REALLY need someone to mash the two together?

Try to contain yourself photography and curation geeks, but someone has squashed two of your all time favourite things together. Pinterest and Instagram have been combined to create the unsurprisingly named Pingram. Now if only it gave us an endless supply of chocolate and a date with Ryan Gosling too our lives would be COMPLETE.

Pingram, recently launched by developer Gennaro Varriale, allows you to browse through all of the photos from your Instagram feed as if you were looking for things to re-pin and like on Pinterest. The very cool thing is, if you see something you like you can actually pin it to your Pinterest boards too, even though you're technically looking through an Instagram feed. Look at that for super smooth integration.

It may sound a bit unnecessary, but with so many brands, businesses and individuals adopting the grid-like layout made oh-so-popular by the likes of Tumblr and Pinterest, we imagine some will prefer it to their usual web-based Instagram viewers.

[Via Venture Beat]

A new Instagram-based concept called Instaprint has popped up on Kickstarter this week, which scouts out specific locations and hash tags, brings lots of photos together and allows you to print them out in true photo booth fashion.

Instaprint merges the location-based technology of Instagram with our nostalgic love of old photos to bring you lots of snaps to any party and event that's filled with plenty of mobile photography geeks. Simply take lots of Instagram photos as normal, tag the location and then they'll all get sent to the nearby Instaprint box, which will print them out like Polaroids, or store them all in one place online so you can access them later.

We all know how popular crazy photo booths are at parties and events (particularly those that require you to dress up), so we imagine that experience combined with our love of Instagram can only lead to lots of fun times and silly photos.

Find out more about Instaprint over on the Kickstarter page.

A new version of the location app Forecast aims to connect us all with future check-ins and Facebook integration. It sounds promising, but will it work in practice?

Here at Shiny Shiny we seem to be over location-based sharing. There, we said it. We don't know what it is. We used to love Foursquare and Facebook Places, but something about sharing our whereabouts all the time just doesn't appeal to us as much anymore.

Sure we'll check-in now and again if we find ourselves somewhere pretty cool, unexpected or want to force a meeting with a business contact or potential love interest. But, the privacy concerns, issues of over-sharing and lack of 3G reception sometimes means it's just not worth the effort (unless it's alongside an Instagram photo, of course).

Well a new version of the location-based application Forecast aims to get us back into the swing of sharing our every movement, but the difference is you don't check-in as you visit places, you aim to predict where you're going to be later in the day or week so there's more chance you'll bump into those you know.

You begin by creating your own Forecast about where you're planning on going and what you're planning on doing there. This information will then be linked up to your Foursquare account so that your friends can receive notifications about what you're up to and when you do eventually check-in. Forecast's recent integration with Facebook also means your friends will be updated about your future Forecasts and your check-ins on your Timeline too.

One of the main aims of Forecast is to bring people together more, so if you like to think of yourself as a bit of a recluse, then don't bother sharing your location with anyone and everyone (although we'd like to think that's common sense).

Of course the basic premise of Forecast sounds appealing, but we do wonder whether people will stick to their plans and whether it'll seem like too much effort to "forecast" everything before you go ahead and even do it. However, the location-based app market really does need refreshing a little and rather than updating about present and past experiences, maybe looking into the future a little more is just what we all need to get us crazy about location again.

Forecast is available from iTunes for free.

[Via Digital Trends]

Adobe has launched a new app called Photoshop Touch, which is specially designed to bring popular Photoshop functionality to iOS and Android tablet devices.

Photoshop Touch comes equipped with all kinds of tools you'd expect, like blurring, clone stamp, layers, cropping and much more. In this way it's very similar to the desktop version we've all come to know and love, but as you'd expect from a super modern tablet application, it also allows you to take advantage of touch gestures and controls in a big way.

A few of the features that stand out include being able to use the tablet's camera to create a new layer, there's a scribble select tool, which allows you to do just that, scribble and there are all kinds of sharing and syncing options, like being able to save projects to Adobe Creative Cloud so you can work on them on your PC later.

We imagine it'll be a very handy application for those who like to play around with photos in their spare time, but could very well prove to be a professional on-the-go resource for those working in the creative industries too.

Photoshop Touch is available for iPad 2 devices from the iTunes store and Android tablets from the Android Market for £6.99, which may seem a bit pricey for an app but considering how powerful Photoshop Touch is, it's actually really good value for money.

Sky Go, the on-the-go mobile, laptop and tablet TV service available to Sky customers, can now be downloaded from the Android Market to most smartphones running Google's OS.

Users will now be able to access all of the Sky Sports channels, ESPN, Sky News, a range of Sky Entertainment channels and 11 Sky Movies channels via the Sky Go app all from the palm of their hand.

Of course you have to be paying for Sky's (sometimes pricey) TV package in the first place, but Sky Go is a great addition and makes the hefty price tag seem even more reasonable.

Visit the Android Market to get your hands on the Sky Go app now.

We've all been so obsessed with making our photos look dreamy and vintage for the past year that most of us have forgotten just how sharp, accurate and professional mobile photography can be with the right apps, tools and knowledge at hand.

Although the iPhone's camera is pretty capable already, here's our pick of apps and accessories that help you take better photos. Feel free to then go and add 4,281 filters, tilt-shift effects and borders to them after if you like.

We've seen features and reviews about a new to-do list app for the iPhone and iPad called Clear all over the web today, so decided to fill it full of our mundane morning tasks and find out what all the fuss is about...

What's Clear?

Clear is essentially just a very simple to-do list application that works on the iPod Touch, iPhone and iPad. Of course it doesn't have to be used to store task lists though, it can be a tool to keep track of films you want to see, shopping lists, guest lists, contacts, the list (sorry) could really go on and on...

Why is it different?

We've written a number of round-ups over the past year of our favourite productivity apps and there are certainly plenty of good to-do list tools already available to iPhone users, like Teux Deux, Wunderlist and Apple's own Reminders.

However, Clear stands out from the rest because it's just so simple and easy-to-use.

There are no standard navigation bars on the screen, there are just three key levels, the menu (where settings and tips live), the lists (where you can sort tasks into different sections) and then the tasks (the stuff you've got to get done).

Clear really utilises the iPhone and iPad's multi-touch screen, as everything you do within the app is based on gestures, touching, tapping, dragging, pinching and holding. For instance, you tap and hold tasks to pick them up and move them around, pull down on the screen to make a new task pop up and pinch everything vertically to go back to lists, as well as much more.

There's a neat little tutorial at the start, which teaches you what all the different gestures do and how to move your items and lists around with ease. Once you've practiced your swiping and pinching skills a few times it all feels very intuitive, meaning you can put it to good use straight away without making a lot of mistakes, having a tantrum and giving up.

Clear's only weakness at the moment seems to be the fact it doesn't have a web interface to sync up to, which for some will be a deal breaker and for others could be a welcome change.

Who needs Clear in their lives?

To-do list lovers who are looking for a simple, clean alternative to scrappy notebooks or confusing online task management tools.

Sure flashy apps with different fonts, features and fun additions often look great, but when it comes to tools that are designed to make us more productive, it's much more about substance over style. Not that Clear doesn't look good, there are even a number of different themes to choose from, like Heat Map, Pretty Princess and Graphite (as well as a few hidden extras, but shh).

We're not sure Clear will be revolutionary, it's a shame it doesn't have a web interface and we're reluctant to give up on our current favourite, Wunderlist, but if you're a fan of writing and sticking to to-do lists, Clear could well be your new favourite app of 2012 so far.

Available from iTunes for 69p.

Instagram lovers will be very happy to hear that their favourite photo app had yet another shiny new upgrade this weekend, which introduces a brand new filter, an interesting light feature called Lux that brightens up dark shots and an improved UI.

The new filter: Sierra

There's just one new filter added to the Instagram collection this time round, it's called Sierra, it's warm and a little faded and it reminds us of a less intense version of Valencia.

Here's a quick sample of Sierra in comparison to a few of our favourites:

And here it is with its lovely border too:

The new light feature: Lux

Probably the most exciting thing about the new upgrade is Lux, a way for you to alter your underexposed and dark photos with a single tap that makes them look much more bright and vibrant, a little like turning on HDR settings if you're using your regular iPhone camera.

Here's an example of a photo with and without Lux:

For more information about Lux, check out Instagram Tips: Using Lux over on the Instagram blog.

The new UI

Not too much has changed to the way the app actually functions, but there are more simplified header and menu bars, which makes everything look a little slicker.

Although Instagram's big makeover last September angered a few dedicated fans, in our opinion the app's upgrades have always made our photos and user experience even better over time. We heart you Instagram.

Conference calls always sound great in theory, collecting people from different parts of the world together for real-time collaboration and important updates. However, in reality you're left missing scheduled calls, shouting at your phone and trying to reconnect to the call after you've already been disconnected 5,686 times.

Now a new app launched today by RIM call BlackBerry Mobile Conferencing aims to make the dreaded conference call a little bit easier.

Firstly, the app takes all of your conference call details and converts them into a simple 'Join Now' button, this means you don't need to rummage around for codes and dial-in details, you just start chatting straight away.

If you get disconnected from a call (why does that always happen during the most important ones?!) the app displays a 'Reconnect' button, which will quickly dial you back in with just a single click.

There are also a range of other features, like BlackBerry calendar syncing to ensure you only schedule calls when you and your contacts are free and optimal conference call number selection for those dialling in from different regions.

The Mobile Conferencing app probably won't be used by your average consumer, but if you're one of the many people who depends on their beloved BlackBerry day in and day out for work purposes it could be a godsend.

The app is (obviously) only available to BlackBerry users and it's free from the App World.

The Path mobile application was re-launched back in December as Path 2 and has since become increasingly popular among iPhone users. It's meant to be a simple way to share key moments of your life, through photos, videos, thoughts and locations. According to the website, you should think of it as a personal journal or "path" through your life. That admittedly all sounds a bit twee, but it's a much nicer way of putting it than a rather clinical timeline (we're looking at you Facebook, obviously). However, the thing that most users have found so appealing about Path, is that you only share all of this information with up to 150 friends, making it feel a little more personal than the likes of Facebook and Twitter.

Everything seemed to be going so well for Path until today, as it's been revealed that Path 2 has been uploading your personal details and contact information from your address book onto its servers. Oops.

According to CultofMac, a developer called Arun Thampi recently realised all of his contacts were being sent to the Path servers:

"I noticed that my entire address book (including full names, emails and phone numbers) was being sent as a plist to Path. Now I don't remember having given permission to Path to access my address book and send its contents to its servers, so I created a completely new "Path" and repeated the experiment and I got the same result - my address book was in Path's hands."

Path contacted Thampi and said:

"We upload the address book to our servers in order to help the user find and connect to their friends and family on Path quickly and effeciently as well as to notify them when friends and family join Path. Nothing more."

OK, that makes sense. But why wasn't anyone asked first?! I don't have any huge issue with an app seeing my contacts like many others seem to, but it would have been so much better in the long run to ask users to opt-in before they went fishing around in all of our private stuff.

There's probably no need to point out the irony that a fairly closed and private social network like Path has been taking our personal data...

[Via CultofMac]

It seems we all spent a huge chunk of January pinning photos of lovely scenery, beautiful faces and things we want onto the increasingly popular website, Pinterest. However, we've all been so busy re-pinning kitten photos during work hours that we haven't really given the site's brilliant iPhone app the time it really deserves...

As Pinterest depends so much on large, high quality visuals, you may think shrinking that experience down to a mobile screen would really suck the fun out of it. However, the Pinterest app manages to bring you a really intuitive interface, simple navigation tools and most importantly, great looking photos all on your iPhone, or even better your iPad.

Navigation

The app takes the site's layout and brings it to a smaller screen with a simple menu along the bottom allowing you to see the pins of those you're 'following', 'explore' pins from the big wide world of Pinterest and pick from a range of categories to browse, view your personal 'activity' or just go look at how pretty your 'profile' looks. There's also an option to share photos from your phone, or take one straight away, and add it to one of your boards.

Images and Interaction

To make up for the fact you're viewing everything on a much smaller screen, when you browse photos in the 'following' and 'explore' tabs each one takes up the width of the screen and you scroll up and down as apposed to seeing everything in a grid format. This way you can see the images in much more detail and actions like 'repin', 'like' and 'comment' are much much easier to use. Just like on the website you can tap on a photo to see its original source too, a great feature we're really happy to see in the mobile version.

The 'profile' tab will still bring all of your pins up in a grid-like format, which makes sense if all you want to do is have a quick browse through all your images and not really engage with anyone else or repin an image.

Best bits

The design of the app is really clean and simple, very much like the website, which is great given there's so little room to play with on a mobile screen.

Our favourite element of the app has to be the 'explore' tab, which allows you to fall into the rabbit hole that is Pinterest and browse through tonnes of different categories infinitely. No more boring commutes for us...

Available from iTunes for free.

Related: All you need to know about how to get started with Pinterest

We've written about our love for blogging platform Jux a few times in the past, but have often felt it needs just a little bit more work before it's going to replace the likes of Tumblr and even Wordpress further down the line.

So, it's pretty exciting that Jux has this week announced it'll be hooking up with Instagram to allow users to share their blurry, retro shots alongside images from the likes of Facebook and Flickr too.

The main thing we love about Jux is that it makes our images look AMAZING. They're displayed in a fancy grid-like layout, can be swiped and moved around easily and take up the whole screen. So, it makes sense that Jux would team up with an awesome photo editing tool to make our photos and blogs look even slicker.

We love Instagram here at Shiny Shiny, we love writing about it, talking about it and sharing our silly snaps with our followers. But how far is too far when it comes to Instagram merchandise? Well, we think decorating your house with retro shots of food is about as much as we can take.

New service Stitchtagram (see what they did there?!) makes custom handmade cushions from your cheesy Instagram snaps. You get to pick which ones are used with the company's handy layout tool and then they're printed at Stitchtagram HQ in the US.

Yeah, it sounds OK in theory and there's all kinds of merchandise you can have your photos printed onto already, like mugs, stickers, iPhone cases and other things you're highly likely never to use. But, there's just something about Instagram pillows that seems a little OTT. Maybe if you're really talented when it comes to mobile snaps and your the results look fairly professional you could get away with photographic furnishings, but until then no one wants to visit a house with grainy shots of cats, food and quirky street grafitti dotted around. Do they?!

If you think your life wouldn't be complete without carefully selected Instagram shots on soft furnishings then check out Stitchtagram.

[Image via Stitchtagram]

We've always been able to share our Instagram snaps through to our Facebook friends once we've taken them, edited them and added a caption to them. But according to the Instagram blog, from today users will now notice much better integration with the social network, including a dedicated photo album and bigger images.

Before, Facebook photos just seemed to be thrown into our profiles with little thought of how they'd look or where they'd get stored. If you choose to share through to Facebook now, your image will appear much bigger than before along with the caption you've added and a link to its public URL.

There are also better sharing features, so simply click "share" under a friend's Instagram image and you can paste it onto your own timeline, to a friend, a group or into a message.

Most importantly, there's now a dedicated album for Instagram photos where they'll go to live. We always found it strange that they didn't get saved anywhere, so we even set up an ifttt.com rule to combat the problem!

And finally, you really need to activate the new Facebook timeline to make your Instagram photos look extra specially good. So, if you've been holding off up until now, just go bite the bullet, you won't regret it if you're into mobile photography.

Tip: To find out how to add Instagram photos you've already shared into the new album, check out this guide from Instagram's support centre.

We've written about our love for quirky and (relatively) new blogging platform Jux a few times in the past. We even made it fight Tumblr and it won! So today we thought we'd let you know just how amazing Jux now looks on the iPhone.

Regardless of the device you're using, Jux has always centered on big, lovely images that you can easily flick through. However, recent developments and tweaks to Jux on the iPhone means browsing, uploading and editing posts is easier and slicker than ever and content looks like the Flipboard-style apps we're becoming more and more accustomed to.

It seems as if there are also plans for a dedicated app and more social features in Jux's future too, judging from this strange email from the development team:

"What's next? Mobile upload? You bet. Android? Sure. Native apps? Yes, in some way, shape. But, first, Jux plans to bring you sophisticated new creative & social options ... yum."

It'll be interesting to see how Jux continues to fare against stiff competition from blogging platforms and other image-based services, like Pinterest and GetVega (which we reviewed yesterday), but for now it's one of our favourite places for browsing interesting photos and quirky content.

Yesterday US President Barack Obama went and got himself an Instagram account (or at least his team got one for him). In an official blog post about him, the Instagram team writes that the social network will become an interesting place in the run-up to the 2012 Presidential Election, with news organisations like NBC News and The Washington Post already sharing a behind-the-scenes peak at debates across the country. It's really fascinating that a photo-sharing app and social network used to showcase photos of cats and food can also be a useful tool in the run up to important political events. As if you needed another excuse to start using it more?!

So here's our list of five (relatively new) newbies that are worth following:

1. Barack Obama

The US president signed up for an Instagram account yesterday and already has more than 10,000 followers. We're expecting big things from Team Obama and can't wait to see how they utilise Instagram over the next year.

Follow: @barackobama

2. Zooey Deschanel

Quirky American actress, funny girl and singer/song-writer Zooey Deschanel joined Instagram late last year and has since shared a number of cute and hilarious photos of her personal life, her nails and the other celebrities she meets. We just want her face/hair/job/talent now please.

Follow: @zooeydeschanel

3. Tiffany & Co.

Tiffany's shares the kind of beautiful and dreamy photos you'd expect from the iconic jewellery brand, with some product promotion, plenty of behind-the-scenes snaps and lots of lovely festive photos from over Christmas.

Follow: @tiffanyandco

4. Justin Bieber

We know, we know, he definitely shouldn't be in the same list as the US President but if you happen to be a huge Bieber fan then you'll love following his Instagram feed for personal photos and behind-the-scenes shots. There's obviously plenty of cheesy promotional stuff thrown in there for good measure too.

Follow: @justinbieber

5. Jamie Oliver

Another celebrity who may not be everyone's cup of tea, but does regularly update Instagram with lovely, personal and very well-taken photos.

Follow: @jamieoliver

For more well-known users, check out Instagram's Notable Users Directory, it may be a bit US-centric but it's a pretty interesting and comprehensive list.

Back in 1912, the publishers behind The Sunday Times decided not to release an edition of the paper on Christmas Day to give paperboys the day off. But oh how times have changed!

Now that the paper can be delivered directly to your tablet device or computer, The Sunday Times team has decided to release an edition on Christmas Day and to celebrate will make it free for everyone. Just look at that for Christmas spirit!

The exclusive online Christmas Day edition will be available to all Android tablet and iPad users and is set to feature the usual boring bits, like the global news, but will also have interactive quizzes, a collection of cartoons that defined 2011, big photo galleries of festive celebrations around the world and a few other surprises.

Now we do begrudge the fact that for the rest of the year we have to pay for a sneak peek at The Sunday Times' content, but we never like to turn down a freebie.

Available from iTunes and the Android Market.

The British Journal of Photography (BJP) is considered to be the top publication for contemporary photography news from across the globe and it's recently launched an app, which brings quality editorial and huge, creative images to your iPad.

The reason we love the BJP app so much is because it's not just a copy of the print publication squeezed into tablet format, it's been specially tailored to really make the most of the iPad's functionality and display.

It allows you to swipe through content with ease, making use of the iPad's intuitive navigational tools and it also displays the incredible photography in a way that really draws you in and fills up the screen. If you think we're being too over the top, just take a look for yourself, it really is "ooo" and "ahh" kind of stuff.

When it comes to the content there's a big mix of features, articles, interviews with key players in the industry, videos and big photo galleries. There's the odd review of photography gear too, but it's certainly not a consumer-y "go buy this neat digital camera" kind of magazine.

In an interview on the publication's website, Simon Bainbridge, the editor of BJP talks about the new app:

"Our idea was not to completely re-imagine a magazine, as some people say they want to. We wanted to translate the elegance and authority and intelligence of our magazine on a digital screen, to be able to show moving images, and to have something that is navigationally intuitive and fun to play with. But we didn't want to do anything too tricksy that took away from the content."

The app is ideal if you need a break from reading emails and playing Angry Birds on your iPad and want to swipe through beautiful, cutting-edge images that are a real treat for your eyes. Be warned though, although the app is free and you get bit and pieces of content for free too, you will have to purchase future issues of the publication separately (for around £6.99) or think about getting a subscription. Only true photographer fans should start downloading.

Available from iTunes for free.

Apps are brilliant little things aren't they?! They tell us where we are, what's going on, let us take great photos, save money and shop with ease. However, for every great app out there we can guarantee there are 10 that are stupid, pointless and just plain weird available for oddballs to download too.

So although there was plenty of choice, we've picked out what we consider to be the weirdest, creepiest and stupidest apps of 2011, whether you want to find out who died around you, use your phone as a vibrator or find out more about your girlfriend's period, we've got you covered.

We collected together our 10 favourite Christmas apps for kids back in November, but we've been on the look out for more ever since and may have found the most addictive yet.

Santa's Sleigh Ride looks a little basic at first, but then ten minutes after thinking it's far too child-like you realise you've played it 60 times and you're obsessed with beating your last score.

It's just a simple running game, tap santa and Rudolph so they jump over Christmas puddings and other festive obstacles and then tap them twice to jump over trees and snowmen. The simple mechanic makes it ideal for all ages, so it's a good one when little relatives won't calm down, just give them your iPhone or iPad and you'll have a big of peace and quiet!

It's not a ground-breaking app, but it will keep you amused in the run up to Christmas and the bright graphics and jolly music will leave you feeling very festive.

If you decide to buy Santa's Sleigh Ride, 15% of proceeds will go to the Action Duchenne charity, which campaigns for research and treatment of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD).

Available from iTunes for 69p.