Instagram has finally become available on Windows Phones after what seems like an incredibly long wait. The photo and video sharing app established itself on iPhone before spreading over to Android phones in 2012. It is now available, in its beta version, in the Windows Phone Store on all devices running the Microsoft operating system as of 11 a.m. PT Wednesday.
The Instagram app looks and behaves very similar to the photo-sharing app as it's seen on many other platforms such as iOS and Android devices. However, those excited to parade their Windows phones as a viable alternative can't do so just yet. The app lacks some key functionality such as Video capture and uploading photos, tagging photos and viewing geotaxis.
"[Instagram] is something our users have definitely been super interested in getting on the phone," Todd Brix, general manager of the Windows App Store, told Mashable, "primarily because a lot of the proposition for consumers on our [platform] is the great built-in camera experience. Having the number one social-networking-plus-photo application on the platform is a great thing."
Still, despite the limited functionality, the inclusion of Instagram on Windows Phones marks a milestone for the platform although not a surprising one. Microsoft is a strategic partner of Facebook, which owns the popular photo and video sharing application.
Many believe the inclusion of Instagram on Windows Phones will create a big boon for users of the Nokia smartphones. A subsidiary of Microsoft, the phones have been prioritizing camera technology in various ways.
"We've seen in the last couple of years that the devices come out, people write the reviews, and somewhere in there it says, 'It's pretty good, but the ecosystem is lagging,'" says Casey McGee, Microsoft's senior marketing manager for Windows Phone. "We've been looking at that, listening to feedback, and what we're seeing is we have turned that corner. People are more satisfied with some of the key apps on our platform than on other platforms."
