Popular photo altering/sharing social app Instagram has enjoyed a pretty decent last few months by all accounts, and soon after releasing its long-awaited Android app, Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook came along and purchased it for an unbelievable $1 billion.
Zuck promised the many millions of Instagram users that the world’s foremost social network wouldn’t be meddling too much with their favorite app’s own identity, and nearly a month in, he seems to be sticking to that promise.
Just now, the Android app the world so yearned for was minorly updated, bringing tilt-shift capability to the tens of millions of Android users who’ve already jumped aboard the Instagram bandwagon. Tilt-shift basically gives photos more depth of field and realistic blur, so look out for the new “droplet” icon when editing your photo to give the new feature the once-over.
Although it’s growth and popularity are both incredible, it has drawn a lot of criticism from cynics – many of whom believe the ease in which filters can be applied to images lessens the skill involved in creating a well-polished image. To a degree, it cannot be argued that Instagram can apparently make a half-decent photographer out of anybody with an iPhone, but I do think everybody needs to take a step back and realize that Instagram is merely a bit of fun.
The UI is undoubtedly bland and unimaginative, but need it be the finished article? Should the filters and effects offer a professional edge allowing every pixel to be carefully monitored for blemishes? Of course not. It was created to be quick, easy, fun, and sociable, and while the number of users continues to rise by the millions on a weekly basis, don’t expect things to change anytime soon.
Those of you running Instagram on your Android smartphone can grab the updated version from the link below. It is – and always will be – absolutely free, and at 13MB, shouldn’t interrupt your snap-shooting for more than a few moments.
As well as the tilt-shift implementation, there’s also a minor filter screen fix for GT-S5830C devices, so everybody using Instagram on Android should now find it to be a seamless experience.
Download Instagram for Android [Google Play link]
Make sure to check out our Android Apps gallery to explore more apps for your Android device.
You can follow us on Twitter, add us to your circle on Google+ or like our Facebook page to keep yourself updated on all the latest from Microsoft, Google, Apple and the web.
