If you haven’t heard so already, the Instagram photo sharing app is finally open to both iOS and Android devices. After using it for a little over a week, the app has also earned the TechnoLeah stamp of approval.
In a nutshell, Instagram is Twitter, except with more emphasis on photography. The app uses a phone’s camera to capture photos and share them in its user stream. Instagram can also share posted photos with other social sites such as Facebook or Twitter. The thing that separates Instagram from just taking a photo and sharing it “the old fashioned way” is the app’s use of filters, which demonstrate how much a quick crop and photo effect can transform a photo. For example…
…the filters can turn this..
…into this.
My favorite aspect of the app is the simplicity of its user interface. This is definitely one of those apps that even the least tech-savvy smartphone user can pick up easily.
Of course, all good things are not without flaws. Any photos only posted within the Instagram app (and not on other social sites) can’t be viewed by friends or family who don’t use the app. In this respect Instagram is kind of like the popular kids’ table: if you don’t have a smartphone, you don’t get to join in the fun.
A few days ago Facebook purchased Instagram for a cool billion. So, there’s room to assume these aspects of Instagram could change in the near future. For now though, the app is worth a free download.
