In Snapchat, you can see the photo or video that your friend sent and then respond with a similar one. But with Slingshot, you will be able to see what your friend sent only when you send one back yourself. You can use your rear camera to shoot a normal photo or video or the front one for a selfie. You can enable or disable Flash too.

When you receive a Sling from your friend, it is Locked by default. Locked Slings are pixelated and can’t be viewed as a normal photo or video. To Unlock the Sling, shoot a Sling of your own and send to that friend to Unlock the Sling he/she sent.

Once Unlocked, you can either tap the Sling to respond with one back, or simply swipe away the Sling to discard it. Do remember that once you swipe away the Sling, the message will no longer be available for your view.

Slings can also be customized with a text message (limited to 140 characters). You can also draw something on your Slings before Slinging them.

There is an option to Sling to all your friends too. Simply click the Select All button while you are about to Sling your message.

Since the messages self-destruct automatically, the photos and videos that you send or receive are not stored locally on your device. But, there is an option to opt-in to save your images to your local storage – check the Settings section inside the app.

The app is made by Facebook Creative Labs, the same team that made the Facebook Paper app. Slingshot is available for free on the iTunes App Store and the Google Play store, but is limited to the United States for now. As for the Android users, the Slingshot APK is already available on the internet.

Related : How to install Facebook Paper for non-US users?

What do you think about this app? Do you think Facebook’s Slingshot will succeed over Snapchat, the company which denied Facebook’s offer of $3 billion? Do share your thoughts with us.

Link : Slingshot website | On iTunes App Store | On Google Play store | Slingshot APK

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This Post Facebook launches Slingshot is Published on Devils' Workshop .

So how does Twitter keep these new users interested on its service? One simple way is to be more like a social network rather than a endless stream of tweets and links. With Twitter new profile design, they have shamelessly copied Facebook’s design.

I would not blame Twitter for copying Facebook. It would give a great deal of familiarity for a first-time user.

That said, I would not enjoy this sort of design on my phone app, which Twitter will probably end up doing because mobile is the future (rather present).

Interesting new feature added is that you can now pin a tweet at the top. This has to be a tweet you posted and not a retweet.

Get the new profile:

• Just log-in to your account on Twitter.
• Visit the link – https://about.twitter.com/products/new-profiles.
• Scroll down a bit and click on the “Get it Now” button.

Your Twitter account will show up with the new profile design.

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This Post Twitter’s new profile looks like Facebook is Published on Devils' Workshop .

If you didn’t know, Facebook has a Alpha Testers group that allows the Android users to test the Facebook app updates before they are rolled out to the public.

The above shown image is that of the new Facebook for Android that Facebook has been working on. Based on first impressions, the app is fast and fluid. Scrolling across the posts, navigation is smooth, multimedia upload/download is flawless and the app didn’t crash. Simply said, this version is much better than the previous ones.

How to get this new Facebook app

Before you download this new version, you’ll have to note that, you will experience issues too since this is a beta edition. There may be crashes, image upload/load failure and other glitches.

There are two ways to get this new version of Facebook for Android.

The easy way is to download the Facebook version 9.0.0.0.18 APK and install it on your device. The APK download link is mentioned at the bottom of the post.

The hard way, is to sign up at Facebook for Android Alpha Testers group with your Google account by clicking the Become a tester button. Once registered, go to Settings > Apps on your Android device, find Facebook and hit Clear data. Once done, go to Google Play Store and update the app. If you do not find the update button, uninstall it and download it again.

If you are not able to update the app inside Google Play, try installing the alpha version APK.

Link : Facebook for Android version 9.0.0.0.18 APK | via Android Beat

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This Post How to get the new UI on Facebook for Android is Published on Devils' Workshop .

Facebook is buying the competition out!

Facebook today is a internet giant but its growth happened on the PC screen. Their ads are far more effective on larger screen and not so much on mobile phones. This is why it bought Instagram whose growth was mobile only. Whatsapp is similar but only a bigger threat to Facebook.

There is a rising trend of younger people preferring WhatsApp and not on Facebook. They are creating group conversations and sharing photos on WhatsApp not Facebook.

Facebook is now shelling out huge amounts not just so they have a great product but also to buy out the competition. It could also be to avoid Google or Apple getting in and buying these products.

Trivia

In 2009 Facebook turned down Brian Acton for a job. He lamented on Twitter that it would have been a great opportunity to work with great people but he was looking for life’s next adventure. He was also rejected by Twitter for a job according to this tweet.

He went on to create Whatsapp and is now selling it for $16 billion to the same companies that did not give him a job.

Source: Facebook Press

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This Post Facebook buys WhatsApp for $16 billion is Published on Devils' Workshop .

Facebook Paper is available for iOS devices only in the US for now. If you are in hurry to install Facebook Paper before an international rollout is launched, here is a trick that will help you.

Open App Store on your iPhone or iPad. Tap the Featured section in the bottom left of the app. Scroll to the bottom and you’ll see your Apple ID there. Tap it.

Then, in the pop-up menu that appears, click View Apple ID and then you’ll be asked to enter your Apple ID password. Once entered, you’ll find an option there to change the country. Set the country to US.

You’ll be asked to accept the new Terms and Conditions. Once done, choose None while Apple asks for a valid payment option.

Note : If you have pending non-US Apple credits or iTunes Match subscription, or iTunes Pass, you’ll be in trouble. You’ll have to either to finish your credits and then change your country to US. Or, you can login from iTunes desktop app and sign up for a new US account. Note that you’ll need a US address and credit card.

Also, your existing credit card details will be lost when change countries. You can now download and install the Facebook Paper app on your iPhone or iPad.

Link: Paper – (Facebook) on App Store

Via The Next Web

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This Post How to install Facebook Paper for non-US users is Published on Devils' Workshop .

It is one of the first standalone apps released by Facebook Creative Labs. The Facebook Creative Labs is a special section within Facebook that aims at bringing standalone mobile apps. Facebook Groups is yet another app that is rumored to come soon.

Coming to Facebook Paper, it has a Flipboard-like user interface. It welcomes the user with a Paper feed that has a big photo from a popular story at the top, followed by other stories below.

With Facebook Paper, you can read curated stories from various sections like photography, food, design and more. There are as much as 19 sections that you can browse through.

The main idea behind this app is to bring stories that are great, but not shared by your friends. It’s no longer Facebook anymore with this app, rather a Facebook newspaper, thanks to the Facebook Paper’s news curation algorithm and the human Facebook editors.

The stories from these sections are not personalized though. This means that all the persons would see the same stories all over the world.

The app has been designed to make sharing stories easily with your friends.

Alternative to Facebook native app

The very idea of the Facebook native app is to keep the users engaged with their News Feed stories. With Facebook Paper having this now, and that too with bigger images and a beautiful user interface, people may consider ditching the Facebook native app.

Right now, Facebook Paper doesn’t come with ads, which includes the sponsored stories too. But, it is believed that Facebook will bring ads once people start engaging a lot with this new app.

If you wish to have a look into Facebook Paper before it’s out, you may check this video on Vimeo or have a look at Facebook Paper webpage.

Facebook Paper is available only for United States iPhone users for now. It is scheduled for launch on February 3, 2014. Facebook Paper for Android and other mobile platforms should come soon.

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This Post Facebook Paper, Available for iPhone (US only) on February 3 is Published on Devils' Workshop .