Burst.it - review & giveaway

I recently had the chance to check out Burst. What is Burst you ask? Well, according to their FAQ: "Life's Moments - Smartly Shared. Burst is the simple and private way to capture, save and share life's important moments with family and close friends. Burst provides a safe and organized place to access your videos/photos from any internet enabled device. It is easy and mobile- never miss or lose another moment again."

I started exploring Burst, by completing a sign up for a free account on their web page. Then, I downloaded the app to my phone - it's available for both the Droid and the iPhone. Once the app was downloaded, I was able to immediately start capturing pictures and video. I took a few test shots just to check it out and play with the features. Once you take pictures or videos, they are available on your My Moments tab. When you click on the picture, you can choose to view it, which brings it up full screen. You can also select details. The details section allows you to give your image a title and to tag the picture. It has the information on when the pictures was captured, the location and whether it has been shared. It also allows you to delete the moment.

Have something on your calendar? When you go to take a picture, it will ask you if you are at that event. Leave it as yes, and that will be captured in the title for you.

Now, it was time to share.

Using the contact list on my phone, I was able to easily create groups with which I might share different pictures. For each person, you can edit their set up and send it to them by phone (sends a text message) or e-mail, or both. I loved that I didn't have to look anything up, as long as my friends and family are in my phone's contact list I could simply click to add.

Viewing and sharing pictures is simple. When I first started, I was opening the app and taking the pictures/video, but then I noticed this little button at the top of the My Moments page that said Import. This button allows me to select pictures from my camera roll to share with family and friends. Importing was very simple and took almost no time. I will tell you that the captured date for an imported picture is the time when it was imported, not when it was taken.

Once you have pictures that you want to share, simply click on the picture and select share from the menu. Want to share several pictures? There is a button at the top of the screen that when you click it allows you to share several pictures or videos at the same time. You can then select the groups or the individuals you wish to receive the picture or video. When you send, you have the option of adding a message to the picture.

Once you have shared the pictures and videos, your recipients will receive a text message and/or an e-mail with a link that allows them to view the pictures. When they view the pictures, they have the option to leave a comment. You can see them when you click on the picture and select details and then choose the comment tab. Depending on whether you have sent it as an Open or a Closed Burst controls whether others get to see who the picture went to and any comments left by others.

Can't remember if you shared a picture? No problem, as you look in at the pictures in My Moments, there will be a portion of the Burst logo on the bottom right corner of the picture/video. Not sure who you shared it with? Click on the picture and when you look at the details, the second tab tells you who you shared it with - both groups and individuals.

Want to see your pictures online? No problem, the pictures that you take and the pictures that you import are all available online, once synced. You can choose to sync immediately, or to wait until you have a wifi connection.

Want to share your pictures on social media? No problem, from your computer, when you hover over the pictures in your My Moments page, you can select share. From here, you can choose one of the contacts you set up, as well as to share it on Facebook. You will have to log in to Facebook and allow Burst.it to publish to your wall.

My thoughts. Overall, I think this is a great little tool. I like that the pictures are available on my phone and my computer, with no transfer required on my part.

When I talked to my husband about the app and what it could do, he simply said to me Facebook. But, I told him this was different. On Facebook, the pictures are shared with all of your Friends (based on your settings), with this application you can share them with just one person or with a small group of people - allowing for more privacy. In addition, there are people that we know that don't have Facebook or don't use it very often. This allows us to quickly share the pictures with them, too. Since much of our family is not local, this is a great way to let the family 'peek' in on what we are up to.

I like that it allows me to share the pictures/videos through text or through e-mail. There are several people in my life that don't have text messaging on their phone.

I wish there were an easier way to extract the pictures from Burst.It to my computer. So far, the only thing that I have found is to view the picture and then Save As. When I look at the picture properties side by side, the resolution is the same but the size is different. I uploaded one of each version here for comparison, I saved the following image from my phone and from the computer and imported them here as the same size.
From Phone:

From Burst:

I haven't tried to print them to see if there is a difference then.

I like that I can share the pictures with anyone. They don't have to have a smart phone or belong to Burst.It to receive and view the pictures. Of course, they can set up an account if they want to, but it is not required.

I don't like that my imported pictures don't retain their original time stamp. I am sure that is an improvement that can be made.

When you are online, you can only send phone messages to the contacts that you have set up while in the app on your phone. If you haven't set someone up on your phone yet, you can list e-mails to share to. One thing I discovered here is that if you add an e-mail, associated with a contact that you set up on your phone for text message, it will send it to both the e-mail and the phone. On a positive note, if you add an e-mail from your computer, it does become part of your contact list on the app on the phone - you will have to edit it to put a name with it but the e-mail becomes part of your contact list.

Giveaway!
Courtesy of Burst.It through MomSelect, I have the opportunity to give away to one reader a free lifetime storage plan, valued at approximately $60 per year.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Giveaway will remain open through August 9th. Giveaway is open to residents of the US only. One winner will be selected through Rafflecopter. The winner will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be selected.

No compensation was received for this post. As a participant in this MomSelect program, I received information about the program, as well as a free lifetime storage plan for my use. All opinions expressed are my own or that of my family.