• by Gavin O'Malley , Staff Writer @mp_gavin, June 15, 2011

Sorry all you aspiring photo-sharing startups. (Yeah, we're talking to you, Path, Instagram, and Color.) Facebook is reportedly ready to debut a new photo-sharing app, which critics insist is totally "killer." "It's far too often that the term 'killer' gets thrown around in tech blogs," TechCrunch admits. But, but having seen secret images of the would-be service, the blog says "killer" is an apt characterization. "The app looks amazing."

Internally, the app is reportedly being called either "Hovertown" or "WithPeople," and, while it looks like a standalone service, TechCrunch said it sees signs of potential integration with Facebook's main iPhone app, as well as its main site.

Still, not everyone is as optimistic about the new service as TechCrunch. "This all sounds awesome, but I hope the photo-sharing app works better than the actual Facebook app for iPhone," writes WebProNews' Josh Wolford. "I'm only speaking from my own personal experience, but I've found that app to be a buggy mess at times."

"The best way to think about it appears to be Path meets Instagram meets Color meets (Path's new side project)  with a few cool twists," TechCrunch explains. "And obviously, it's built entirely on top of Facebook's massive social graph." "Like some kind of amalgamation of Path, Instagram and Color, it does sound pretty hot," writes Gizmodo. "It seems the Facebook app may be picking and choosing some of the best features from the most popular photo-sharing apps on the market," adds Msnbc.com. "That sounds like a solid app in theory."

"There's no debating that consumers would use a standalone Facebook photo sharing app," writes GigaOm. But, would it spell the end for competitors? "Yes and no," it hedges, arguing that the app would "hurry the demise of apps that missed the mark to begin with, such as Color."