Instagram just keeps on growing, especially since the buyout by Facebook. It seems everyone us using Instagram to post pictures of their kids, their cats and most importantly, their meals. We're not sure phenomenon really does Instagram justice at this point, but there's one string that is missing from their potent bow. One that just doesn't seem forthcoming.
When Instagram was purchased by Facebook early on last year, many devotees feared their treasured app would simply become an extension of the social network. To Mark Zuckerberg's credit, he's kept to his promise of allowing Instagram to retain its identity, but in an update released simultaneously today for both iOS and Android, the famed photo tagging feature has just been added to the Instagram repertoire.
Windows Phone's unique functionality and innovative take on the mobile ecosystem in general has drawn a fair few admirers, including Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, who famously described it as "beautiful" . For all of its plus points however, the real test of a piece of software's credibility is not just in how good it is, but also how many people are willing to use it, and at the moment, neither developers or consumers seem interested enough in Windows Phone for Microsoft to launch a notable challenge against iOS or Android. One app that could really help draw more consumers is Instagram, and although it's been somewhat up in the air as to whether the Facebook-owned app would be making an appearance on Windows Phone, Nokia appears to have stepped out and confirmed that, in fact, it will.
Instagram has turned into more than a mere photo sharing app over the years. Culminating in its huge sale to Facebook, Instagram has embedded itself into the digital worlds of many of us, and thanks to the recent release of an Android app, Instagram is no longer an iOS-only affair. But Instagram has managed to pull something off that most apps can only dream of - it's left the digital world and found its way into the physical world, too.
The fact that Windows Phone is far, far behind the likes of iOS and Android in terms of numbers of apps is one thing, but the fact that many "core" apps are missing only serves to amplify the problem. Instagram is one app which, for some, has hindered potential migration from the aforementioned big two platforms, and love or loathe the filter-laden network, its popularity is undeniable. For Windows Phone to take a decent cut of the market share, apps such as Instagram will need to materialize sooner rather than later, and whether it be wishful thinking or a legitimate claim, a screenshot has emerged depicting the Facebook-owned app on the Windows Phone Store.
Instagram has been nothing short of a revelation in its short lifespan. What started out as an app for iPhone now spans multiple devices and platforms, and having been purchased by Facebook last year for an eye-watering one billion dollars, its rise is quite rightly seen as landmark achievement. The app itself however, which allows users to take, edit, share and comment on photos, is certainly not as feature-rich as some would like, and the lack of ability to save photos - as one can on the Web - is certainly a limitation. It's not the be-all, end-all of the Instagram experience, yet is still kind of annoying, but much like the new-found ability to copy text from the Facebook News Feed, a tweak for jailbroken iPhones has been developed to facilitate the saving of Instagram photos from your News Feed directly to the device's camera roll.
They do always say that no press is bad press and considering all of the internet chatter that has surrounded Instagram recently over their flip-flopping terms of service, it would seem that there is no better time to discuss the new Piktr Instagram client that has just landed on the Windows Store. Piktr is obviously a third-party development project and although it doesn't come from Instagram or Facebook themselves, it is a fairly comprehensive and modern offering that should fill the void that exists for those mostly happy and content Windows 8 / RT users out there.
If you are an unforgiving Instagram member who has been actively using the photo-sharing service from the beginning, then the recent well-publicized change to the company's terms of service could be the final trigger point needed to make you cut all ties with the network. If you are one of the ones who have been around from the beginning and have uploaded countless photographs to share with your followers, then all is not lost, thanks to the new Freethephotos service that allows users to easily migrate their uploaded Instagram images across to a Flickr account.
Since being acquired by Facebook for close to a billion dollars all those months ago, it's fair to say Instagram hasn't changed a great deal. The tried-and-tested method of facilitating photos, filters, comments and likes hasn't gotten any less popular as we approach the end of 2012, and today, Instagram has pushed out a couple of new features to keep Instafans happy-snapping.
If there's one certainty in life, especially in the world of technology, it's that someone somewhere probably thinks they can do whatever you do, but better. People think they would make a better job of running Facebook or Twitter. That they know how Google should move forward with Android and, sometimes, they even know how to write awesome tech articles. Who knew?!
