|
Trivantis recently launched the Gotzapp mobile social networking site and its free desktop software accompaniment, Zirada Mobile Publisher. Although Gotzapp is clearly being marketed as an avenue for cell phone-enabled socializing, photographers who make their way past the Justin Timberlake photos will find a well-designed set of free tools for creating and distributing mobile image galleries.
A free GotZapp account provides a tabbed member page with typical social networking features -- a personal profile, links to friends' profiles, messaging functions -- along with an area for uploading mobile multimedia presentations that Trivantis dubs "Zapps." Zapps can be uploaded directly from the Zirada software when they are created, then sent to a cell phone from the site.
Recipients get a text message containing a link to the Zapp, which opens in the phone's Web browser. Any Java-enabled phone with Internet service can receive a Zapp, with the exception of phones with Verizon service. Zapps can be sent through a member account from either a computer or a phone, which provides a handy way for photographers to show a sampling of images without requiring the viewer to use a computer.
The free Zirada Windows software includes both a simple wizard interface and an advanced mode. The wizard provides Zapp templates, making it very easy and straightforward to create multipage mobile image galleries with captions and sound. In the advanced mode, there are numerous tools for customizing the look of a Zapp gallery. Basic image and audio editors and a screenshot capture program are also included in the Zirada download.
|
