Instagram and Waze are available for Windows Phone users in the Windows Phone Store.
The absence of interesting apps in the Windows Phone store is definitely one of the reasons why reviewers have a hard time urging buyers to choose Windows smartphones, but Microsoft has announced Wednesday that the two most sought after applications – Instagram, a photo-sharing app and Waze, GPS and social traffic app – can now be clutched from the Windows Phone Store.
Since everybody loves taking photos and sharing it on the Web, Facebook’s Instagram application which Windows phone users have longed for some time, is now out in the store. However, due to the absence of in-app camera support, users will need to capture images from a separate camera. After capturing the photo, an Instagram button will flash out and from there you can apply filters and effects then upload it.
An Instagram spokesperson told The Verge, “As with every platform we take into account how users are using the platform natively, and thought this was the best approach.”
Sad to say, video-sharing is not yet included. Instagram said, “We're not finished, and our team will continue developing the Windows Phone app to keep releasing features and bringing you the best Instagram possible.”
Additional missing features are the ability to tag people in your photos and view maps from geo-tagged images. However, if you are tagged in a photo, you can still ‘untag’ yourself.
The Google-acquired Waze, a GPS-based geographical navigation app program for smartphones, is also downloadable in the Windows store, as well.
Drivers on the road can report traffic jams and accidents in the application Waze. The report will be posted on the app so that other travelers can get that traffic information. Waze, on the other hand, will then redirect users around the traffic jams and accidents.
The release of these two apps plus the release of Twitter’s Vine app seems to be a great improvement for Windows smartphones.
