An Instagram App for Windows Phone That’s Good Enough

Like it or lump it, some Windows Phone users are still lamenting the ongoing absence of Instagram for Microsoft’s smartphone operating system. There are plenty of “read only” apps that will let you browse the photos of your friends but none of them allowed you to upload your photos to the service.

That changed this week.

Itsdagram (note the spelling) is a paid app for Windows Phone 8 with a version for Windows Phone 7.8 in the works. It does what all the other read only Instagram apps can do but this one will actually let you select filters and upload your photos similar to how it’d work on iOS or Android. The interface does largely conform the the Metro design language but it still has a feel reminiscent of the traditional clients for the two major smartphone platforms. You can even like and comment upon photos uploaded by your friends.

That said, the app is not perfect and the developer has noted that there is plenty of work to do to get it to be a highly polished product. However, in the absence of an official app and a lack of an alternative that can actually upload photos there would be little to scoff at apart from the price. In the Windows Phone Marketplace it is AU$1.99 which isn’t bad but could put users off given that official clients to date have been free (although there is reportedly an ad-supported free version in the works).

The only other concern is around how Itsdagram is using the Instagram APIs and whether or not access to the APIs will be terminated at some point. Two dollars is perhaps not a big deal if the app gets pulled or API access is blocked but it could be enough to put people off in the first instance.

Anyway, I am loving the app so far and you can download a trial version which will let you upload one photo just to prove that it does actually work.

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