I have a confession to make: I own a selfie stick. To get a decent picture that includes myself, a few friends, and a scenic backdrop, you need to get at least 6’ away. Neither of my arms are 6’ long. I’m not entirely sure how it came to be that using this helpful device became a social scourge.
The mystery deepens when one considers that among the most beloved and used features of a modern phone is to take selfies. So popular is the practice, we actually have a name for it. The word, “selfie†was only coined as a way of describing the photos people take of themselves from their smartphone camera.
While the selfie phenomenon is no where near on the outs, it is important to note that those front and rear cameras on your smartphone do a lot more than capture photos for the scrapbook. Here are a few uses for those cameras you may not have considered:
Try on a Pair of Glasses, Without the Glasses
Glasses.com offers one of the most innovative uses of a front-facing camera out there. The app allows a person to have a virtual try-on of any pair of eyewear on offer, including sunglasses. You are walked through a few steps that provide the app enough information to build a 3D model of your face.
Once it has the image, you can select any of the frames on offer. They appear instantly on your 3D-rendered face. They move as you move the render, as if you had taken the picture already wearing the glasses. It is a little bit of movie magic, except in real life.
Get a Price Quote for Moving
How much stuff do you have for the movers to pick up? Often, the charge is by the room. But that doesn’t really say much. How much stuff can you pack into a room? If you really want a reasonable estimate, you have got to give the movers a more realistic estimation of what it is you plan to move.
Among other things, the new Pikkup app attempts to do just that. In the same way the Uber allows you to hail a ride, Pikkup allows you to hail a background-checked person with a truck or van to help you move. To get an idea of the estimate, you take up to four photos of the stuff that needs to be moved.
Measure Your Space, and Everything Else
You’ve picked out the perfect spot for that new sofa. The only thing is, you didn’t bother to measure the space to be sure you have room for the couch and those end tables you’ve been eying. Worse, you can’t remember where you laid that tape measure for the life of you.
All is not lost. Because you have a smartphone, you can easily find and download an app that allows you to measure the dimensions of your space, all by using the camera. There are also apps that enable you to measure smaller object, as well.
There’s a lot more to do with your camera phone besides taking selfies. Some people use them to take visual reminders of important things for archival in Evernote. Other people use them for scanning business documents. Still others use them as digital magnifying glasses. There are many good reasons the smartphone camera has become the most important feature that gets people to upgrade. Still, there’s nothing wrong with a good selfie, or a selfie stick, for that matter.