What’s in a name?
There are a wide range of iPhone photo apps in the App Store. They have an even wider range of names. Most are — pardon the pun — aptly named with a word or phrase that is clever and fairly descriptive of the app’s function. Occasionally, there are some apps, regardless of the quality of the app, with names that make one wonder just what its developer was thinking.
As the number of photo apps grows, it’s reasonable to assume that the number of available, cool photo app names is going to dwindle. I’m still amazed, however, at some of the cool names developers still create for a basic camera replacement app. On the other hand, I’m sometimes bewildered when a developer puts so little thought into the names of their apps, especially after the hours and hours of time they spent creating it. The ideal goal is to create an app with a descriptive, clever name that a user won’t be ashamed of having on their home screen.
Here’s my list of the Worst iPhone Photo App Names. These aren’t names where the name of the company is an important part of the app name, which makes sense. These are app names that made me ask why? Some of these apps are awesome ones stuck with a bad moniker. Others live up to the expectations set by their title.
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O X Camera
I previously reviewed this overlooked gem of an app. Oh-Ecks Camera is not how it’s pronounced. Omicron-Chi? It’s an excellent multiple exposure camera with unique features and it outputs at full-res. It’s a great app but because of the first two characters it’s difficult to search for in Western App Stores. The name perplexes me so much, in my original review, I had to post a screenshot with the app’s correct name — WordPress wouldn’t let me enter the actual O and X characters correctly. I love this app. I wish I could tell you what it’s called.
Moco Cam
Moco Cam is a filter app that applies lens effects from your choice of filters. Fair enough. Similar to the Chevy “Nova” fiasco in the 1970’s (“No va” is Spanish for no go), “moco” is a Spanish word for booger. With super low-res 320×480 output, Moco Cam isn’t high on my list of apps to test drive fully. Although maybe one of the lens effects is called “Allergies….”
iLuvCamera
Well, it does have the word camera in the title. iLuvCamera is a digital zoom camera replacement with three different types of sampling algorithms. I’m not sure why this name irks me so. Maybe it’s because the camera sells itself on the advanced zoom algorithms and the title suggests a camera app that superimposes cute hearts and stars. Another app with super low-resolution output. No luv from me.
Any App With “A+” in the Name
It’s an old phone book trick from the days when information was merely alphabetized (you remember dead tree phone books, right?). The idea was to slap an A+ at the beginning of your name to get to the top of the listings. Sometimes, you’d see listings with names like AAAA-1 Ultimate Plumbers. Nice try, devs, but the iTunes Store lists app titles chronologically. Want to get to the top of the listings? Sell a lot of apps. Or keep making new ones.
sCam UFO
This is a fun photo app that superimposes Unidentified Flying Objects onto your photos. These are flying saucers in the classic vein. As everyone now knows, aliens arrive in huge, menacing spacecraft capable of destroying entire cities with a single shot. Imagine the fun if we’d had this app back in the 1950’s! I’m just amused that on first look, the word “scam” reads in the app’s name. Or maybe “scam UFO” is part of the joke. An incredibly clever name or an unfortunate oversight.
=M=
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