Cinegif Text Review

Animated GIFs are a well known way of providing video clips or animations on many different websites. Used in appropriate number, they're a fun way of getting a point across or just demonstrating how cute kittens and puppies are. Cinegif Text brings that level of fun to SMS messaging and more.

It's a little pricey at $4.99 but simple to use. It's the kind of thing ideal for those who regularly text with the added bonus of being able to use such animations on Twitter or pretty much anywhere else that supports GIF files.

Tap Create and record up to 10 seconds of video footage, then wait for Cinegif Text to do its magic. On my iPhone 4, it took around 40 seconds to convert which is a little on the long side. Once the animation is created, users can then paste the file into an SMS or iMessage. They can also transfer this creation to any social media sites or blogs, by tapping Copy.

There's no way of directly exporting to Twitter, but this can be done relatively simply by signing up to a relevant sharing site such as Twitpic or Yfrog. At the hefty price, I'd have preferred to have seen this all done automatically, but for those used to Twitter, it doesn't take long to set up.

The clips themselves are fun to view although quite small. There's also the option to use pre-created animations which can be useful for certain situations.

It's all quite harmless fun for the most part. There's just that nagging feeling that Cinegif Text isn't offering as much as the price would suggest. It's great for inserting animations into SMS messages, especially as there's no need for special software for the recipient but lack of true Twitter and Facebook connectivity is frustrating.