Obviously if you follow the news in the Android world you know that Instagram finally was released this week. If you are unfamiliar, Instagram is the long time IOS app for taking photos with filters, a mobile website for viewing photos and supporting community. Android users have been waiting for a long time for the app to be released on the platform. But now that it is here I have already installed and uninstalled it. The reason I removed it is because I believe that there are already better offerings in the Play Store.
I have been using Camera Zoom FX by Androidslide for several months. It is an app that allows you to take pictures and apply filters. There are downloadable filters and even "buddies" that add famous people in to your pictures. I think the interface is fairly simple. There are tons of filters that you can selectively add. Instagram doesn't seem to offer all of those filters. I have been very disappointed with the similar looking filters that Instagram has included with it. However, it does allow you to post them to their site after taking the pictures and you can follow other Instagram users that will show up in your feed. For the Android users we have Google+ that automatically uploads your pictures. In Camera Zoom FX I can send the pictures to all of my social sites to share with the people I actually know. Heck, I can do that with any camera app in Android. I think that is the appeal to iPhone users. They cannot just share information like we can on our phones. They don't get the share option we have all become accustomed to. For us, we have always had an Instagram way to easily post photos.
There has also been some buzz about how Instagram users from the iPhone world were upset because the Android users would lower the quality of the pictures being submitted. First of all, I don't need the approval of the snotty Instagram community for my pictures. Secondly, the throat bearded-hipster-iPhone users can continue to post touching pictures of the latest occupy protest, snap photos of them standing in line for the next mediocre iPhone release or share their Starbucks Iced Grande Americano's in artistic ways. I am not a photographer but I like to snap pictures here and there. I don't want or need their opinions. I rarely want a filter but if I want to post photos, I can share it myself to social networks that my friends can all access. Yes, having an app where I can apply filters is a nice tool to have but I want a more personalized app. Instagram isn't what I had hoped it would be.
I know that not all iPhone users are this way and I also know there are some great Android photographers. I still think that there are much better apps to take these pictures and post them. I also know that several other readers have mentioned how they were underwhelmed with Instagram. What do you think? Does it live up to the hype?
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