[Shardz]

App: Cram - Reduce Pictures v3.8
Developer: Accusoft Corp
Category: Photography
Price: N/A
IAP: $1.99

Cram - Reduce Pictures is a unique and useful image compressor application that will drastically reduce file size of JPG files by at least 60% without compromising or degrading image quality whatsoever. Being an application with somewhat of a solitary purpose, Cram does exactly what it boasts and does it amazingly well with very little effort or interaction from the end user. Why does one need something like this and what does it do exactly? With the advent of today's digital camera technology racing forward to produce tremendously large resolution images, these stored image files can occupy massive amounts of local storage space, especially in large photo collections. For those who enjoy toting around all their high resolution photos to show their family and friends, local storage space will be impacted exponentially over volume. With social networking being at the forefront of consideration with media, this allows one to send more images through email as server limitations are imposed, and also saves time uploading due to smaller files, while being easy on your data plan remotely. Cram employs an algorithm that manipulates the JPG compression of the images that is much more efficient and effective in reducing file sizes, while leaving the quality completely untouched in any way. As the algorithm itself is configurable in three simple settings; Favor Quality, Balanced and Favor Size, the technical aspects of Cram are transparent with only minimal settings to consider in the options menu.

The landing page of Cram presents you with a single button to browse your device for JPG images, a minimal options menu and a readout for file saving statistics. Initiating the browser will prompt a screen with thumbnails only for folders that have qualified images to manipulate, making this process quick and easy to locate your desired photos. Selecting a folder will display decent sized thumbnails that you can select with a tap individually, select all with a button or deselect all using the same method; all relatively easy. With your desired images selected, you simply hit the 'Cram it!' button and the processing begins at an amazingly efficient speed. Once processed, the images will be placed in a separate folder named 'CramIt' for you to either store or dispatch as you deem necessary, that's all there is to it. The higher the resolution of the photos, the more space you appear to save as the algorithm works on a percentage basis. One image I tested weighed in at 5.78 MB at 4128 x 3096 resolution, which then shrank down to an astounding 1.18 MB, effectively reducing file size 490% roughly. Another smaller resolution image at 2.39 MB at 2592 x 1944 resolution reduced down to 1 MB, giving me a 239% file size difference. Multiplying these space gains by the size of your stored photo collection will free serious amounts of valuable local storage on your device. Even with a very critical eye, I could not discern the difference between the converted photos and their originals whatsoever. There is truly nothing to lose and everything to gain by using Cram on your image collection, especially where space is of the utmost importance.

Besides the three preset quality settings in the options menu, there is an auto-reduce function that will shrink images as you take them with the camera, completely automating the process entirely with no input required. An auto-delete option will delete the original images after they have been processed manually, utilizing the browser method at your discretion. An option to share images is given here that will present you with numerous methods to transfer your photos to social networking sites, local area networks, or no prompt can be set, as well. There are also two options for notifications of monthly and weekly savings and reduction reports, which might be of interest to those who enjoy statistics and technical aspects. Accusoft aimed this application at the average user as it is extremely straight forward with little configuration needed to gain instant results to start saving space. As Cram is a free download, it is limited to 300 reductions before you need to purchase via IAP, but the fee is fairly minimal considering that you will save space wherever the photos will be stored, including your desktop or external drives. As amazing as this app is, I would also like to see some options to change the resolution size in some way to give more options of portability through social networking sites and the like. The file sizes will drastically reduce, but the image resolutions will stay the same, effectively requiring another app for this purpose. Perhaps that might be included in a future update, but it is not possible as of writing. Also, Cram only manipulates the JPG format, so other image formats do not qualify for processing at this time, though the developer appears to be looking at PNG format, as well. I highly recommend Cram for those who are conscious of space conservation, limited with time or data on their service plan. For the paltry price of $1.99, this application will save some serious resources.

Pros:

• Amazing compression of JPG images to save time and space.
• Extremely fast and efficient batch processing of local images.
• Complete automated processing option for all camera photos taken.
• Streamlined interface with minimal configuration for the average user.

Cons:

• Only the JPG file format is supported at this time.
• Converting resolutions of processed images is not possible.
• There is currently no way to change the default output folder.

Reviewer rating:
Device/OS used: Samsung Galaxy Note 3, Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 7 2012 / KitKat v4.4.4, Lollipop v5.1.1

Purchase at Google Play
Mobilism: Cram - Reduce Pictures Premium v3.8