By Robert S. Davis
Globe Staff

Reviewing: 360 Panorama
By: Occipital
Price: 99 cents
Platforms: Available on iOS (tested on iPhone and iPad) and Android
Should you get it?: Yes.

From a viewer's perspective, there are few things more dramatic and immersive than a panoramic photograph. But for photographers, the production of such sweeping images can be an onerous task that at first required specialty cameras and film as well as time and expertise.

Digital photography facilitated production, allowing photographers to stitch together many photos in an image editor or via a camera's built-in software. And now app-laden smartphones that rival the image quality of point-and-shoot cameras make producing stunning panoramas easier than ever.

At 99 cents, Occipital's 360 Panorama app offers iOS and Android users a powerful tool to create not only standard panoramic photos, but truly immersive, 360-degree images with sweeping views from sky to shoes. Image quality is often excellent and the app offers several options for sharing photos.

By Damon Kiesow
Boston.com Staff

Reviewing: Burst
Company: Burst.it LLC
Price: Free
Platforms: iPhone, Android
Tested on: iPhone 4G
Should you get it? Yes, if you find Instagram or Facebook photo sharing to be too public.

In contrast to the over-sharing abundant on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and the like, there is a new trend in mobile apps: not over-sharing.

For instance, Pair (iOS and Android) allows the exchange of messages between just two people.

Boston-based Kibits (iOS and Android) allows users to create 'micro-networks' of friends at the same events or locations.

Then there is Burst (iOS and Android), another product of Boston that wants you to share your photos and videos, but a bit more discreetly.