Instagram for Windows: All You Need to Know

Instagram, the famous free phone app has finally been introduced on Windows phone 8 and some have clearly criticized it as a half-hearted effort. Facebook had shelled out a whopping $ 1 billion in the year 2012 to acquire Instagram. The announcement regarding the introduction of this photo app on Micsoftâs Windows platform had come at the Nokia World 2013 conference held in Abu Dhabi. Kevin Systrom, the CEO of Instagram had declared:

Weâre looking forward to watching the Windows Phone community use Instagram to capture and share beautiful moments in the coming weeks.

All said and done, the much anticipated moment having arrived- letâs see what this collaboration has in store for customers.

What Can You Expect?

The app is currently called Instagram Beta and thereâs a lot yet to be achieved here. Users should not really be too upbeat about this one owing to their previous experience with Android and iOS. Some of the features are clearly lacking.

• The filter effects that are typically needed to edit pictures on the app are present. The phone users would be able to find their feed properly and would also be able to indulge in a good deal of social sharing. Searching for hastags and other users is also possible.
  
• On the flipside, you will not be able to view the geotaxis as of now. Photo tagging is MIA as a result of which friends in your snaps would remain unrecognizable for now.
  
• At present, this Windows phone 8 app is lacking both video upload and video capture. It has been stated that there was a lot of urgency regarding the introduction of this app for Windows users. As such, some of the key features have been left out. However, the core features are very much there with the promise of more coming soon. The users can watch clips lasting for around 3-15 seconds which have found a place in their feed.
  
• The app lacks a back -up in-app camera capture. For now, when you click on the camera icon you are directed out of Beta and sent to the default camera option of the phone. You can then take the snaps and put them in the app for desired sharing and editing.
  

Users of Nokia Lumia 1020 can experience almost all the features present in Instagram. You can easily convert it into camera lens, or else upload an image from Camera Roll. If youâre using this particular phone, do know for a fact that these features are very much present. Many users are not aware of this owing to the unusual placement of buttons.

Earlybird, Sutro, XPro-II, Toaster, Hudson, Nashville, Inkwell, Amaro, Rise, Hefe, Walden are some of the filters which are there in Instagram. You are also presented with the option of commenting and blurring images.

With the much awaited introduction of Instagram on Windows finally happening, it now remains to see how Instagram chooses to update itself for Windows users. The app has already been a huge success with iOS and Android users (as already indicated above) and weâre sure that its developers are aiming at similar success for Windows as well.

Author Bio: Avik Sarkar is presently heading the Digital Marketing firm a2zesolutions. He is a passionate blogger and Social Media enthusiast as well. He lives in Kolkata and has received his MBA degree from SMU.