There’s been a fair amount of news on the Photovine front recently — none of it particular flattering for Google , or its now shuttered Slide branch. But users of the mobile app-based photo service can now continue sharing their pics using Piictu — a slightly different, yet remarkably similar service that launched well before its Google counterpart. What initially began as a fun side project for co-founder Jon Slimak, Piictu has apparently gained quite a following, prompting its creators to add some polish to the service and push it out of beta. We’re not quite sure what to expect for its future, but Google’s involvement with its Piictu competitor appears to have helped the original service gain some traction, despite its indy status. Jump past the break for the announcement from Piictu, or hit up our source link to download the iOS app. Continue reading Piictu survives Google’s Photovine, launches out of public beta Piictu survives Google’s Photovine, launches out of public beta originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Sep 2011 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink