Instagramming from your Windows Phone

Ane of the more hot-push Windows Phone topics is Instagram. Whether it's rumors of a Nokia sponsored, official Instagram app hitting the Store or Instagram making it more difficult for third party apps, the photo sharing network is a popular topic for discussion.

While we still take however to see an official Instagram app for Windows Phone, we do take several rather appealing Instagram clients that allow u.s.a. to tap into the network and share photos of our dinner, pets, scenic views, ourselves, and anything else we find interesting in the world.

While there are several options to access your Instagram account and/or share images to Instagram from our Windows Phones, we see four apps leading the pack with regards to Instagram clients. All are very capable apps in their own right and we've touched on each before. In this week's roundup we revisit these four and give the low down on each for those new to Windows Phones or for those merely getting interested in Instagram.

Oh... and to avoid having to say this repeatedly, none of these apps are official Instagram customer apps and not a product of Instagram.

InPic (free): InPic, if my memory serves me correctly (and sometimes it doesn't), is the newest "full featured" Instagram client app for Windows Phone viii devices.

InPic is laid out with pages for:

• Your Timeline (your photos and the photos of who yous're following)
• A Popular page highlighting photos with high likes and annotate counts
• A Contour summary folio
• An Activity page summarizing the comments/likes for your photos

InPic Main Pages and Menu

At the bottom of the primary pages are button controls to pull up a list of those you are following, to start the upload process, refresh the main pages, and search Instagram.  Upward under the 3-dot card you'll find options to find friends, edit your contour, sign out of Instagram and admission InPic's settings.  Settings embrace the about screen, InPic'southward privacy policy and some other ways to sign in/out of your Instagram account.

InPic's Instagram features includes the ability to upload images (but non videos), comment on photos, follow other Instagram members, like photos and edit your profile.  You can also delete your photos, share Instagram photos via Twitter or Facebook, download photos to your Pictures Hub, and electronic mail a link to an Instagram to your friends/family/whomever.

As far as uploading your photos to Instagram you have the customary choices of selecting a picture from your Pictures Hub or launching InPic'due south photographic camera app to capture a new photo. The InPic photographic camera app is a nice touch with a simple, directly forward interface. You accept a handful of scene settings across the top of the viewfinder or you lot tin can choose "auto" and let the camera cull which is all-time.

InPic Camera and Upload Screens

Flash controls, a toggle between the forepart/rear camera and a toggle for a Rule of Thirds grid rest at the bottom of the viewfinder. The odd affair virtually the camera app is that you lot tin can't capture an image with your physical shutter button or by tapping the screen. The only shutter available is a big blueish camera button on the screen.  It's non a bad camera app, it just could use a little fine tuning (images seemed soft).

Lomo, 1967, Drawing, and Moonlight Filters

As far equally filters are concerned, InPic has a small choice of filters that includes:

• Lomo, Moonlight, Sunshine
• 1967, Negative, Sketch
• Grayscale, Cartoon

Ii features InPic lacks is the ability to upload videos to Instagram and the ability to create an Instagram business relationship. You can view and locally save existing videos from Instagram with InPic merely you're outta luck if you want to upload your videos.  InPic does take Live Tile support in that you can pin those you are following to your Windows Phone Start Screen for quick access.

All in all, InPic is an attractive Instagram client app. Some may run into the inability to upload videos as a downside merely very few Instagram client apps have that feature.  I wouldn't heed seeing a petty more features added to the camera or in the least a little fine tuning to get the images a lilliputian sharper. The prissy thing about it all is that InPic is a free, ad-complimentary app for your Windows Phone 8 device.

You tin can selection up your re-create of InPic here in the Windows Phone Shop and if you're looking for a Windows 8 Instagram client, InPic is as well available here in the Windows Store.

Instagraph (trial/$ane.29): In a manner of speaking Instagraph is the app that really broke things open up with Instagram and our Windows Phones.  Instagraph was the first Instagram client app that allowed you to upload images.  Before Instagram, all yous could practise is view your images.

Instagraph is a characteristic rich client app that has all your uploading capabilities, a small-scale photo editor, and admission to many of Instagram'south features.  The app layout does take a niggling getting used to though. You lot are greeted past a collage of images from your Pictures Hub and at the bottom of the main page are controls to launch your Windows Phone camera, access your Pictures Hub to share a photo, pull up the Metrogram menu, and view your upload history.

Instagraph Main, Editing, and Upload Screens

To access your Instagram features, Instagraph relies on Metrogram. The two apps became integrated some time agone to give Windows Phone users a more thorough Instagram experience. With the aid from Metrogram, Instagraph can create an Instagram account, view your followers, view who yous are post-obit, search for photos, see what you've liked, view and edit your profile and access Instagram via your Internet Explorer.

Instagraph's MetroGram Interface

Images can exist uploaded from your Pictures Hub or you can launch the native Windows Phone camera app to upload a new paradigm. Instagraph has an Aviary powered photo editor so you tin tweak your images prior to upload. Editing tools include exposure adjustments, stickers, ten filter furnishings, orientation and calculation text.

In one case you're done with the editing, y'all can likewise choose from a healthy selection of Instagram filters that include:

• Amaro, Mayfair, Rise, Hudson
• Valencia, 10-Pro, Sierra, Willow
• Lo-Fi, Earlybird, Sutro
• Toaster, Brannan, Inkwell
• Walden, Hefe, Nashville
• 1977, Kelvin

Or you can permit any filters yous chose in the Aviary editor stand on their own.  The downside to the Instagram filters is that there isn't a preview for them.  The Instagram filters are applied as the image is uploaded.

Singe, Concorde, Ventura, and Laquna Instagraph Aviary Editor Filters

Instagraph lacks back up for uploading videos, you can't delete your photos, but you tin can save Instagram photos through Metrogram.

Equally a stand lonely image uploader for Instagram, Instagraph is an impressive app. I like the congenital-in editor to let you adjust things before uploading but it would be nice to have all the Instagram features in-business firm without the need to rely on another app.

I think the one admirable feature of Instagraph is something you won't see in the app itself. The developers opened up their app for other developers to integrate with. We've seen Instagraph used on several photo editing apps to allow Windows Phone users to upload edited images to Instagram.  Instagraph has cleared a path in many means to brand Instagram more accessible on our Windows Phone. While there is room for improvement, Instagraph has a certain level of entreatment making it worth a effort.

Oh... one advantage Instagraph has over the other apps in today'due south roundup is that information technology is available for both Windows Telephone 7.x and 8 devices. There is a trial version that has daily upload limits and the full version of Instagraph is running $1.29.

You lot can discover Instagraph hither in the Windows Telephone Store.

Instance (free/$1.49): Case, formerly Itsdagram, was the second major player on the Windows Telephone Instagram front. It is a Windows Phone viii app and at one betoken was the simply fully featured Instagram client bachelor. That was before Instagraph joined forces with Metrogram or 6Tag and InPic came around.

Personally, I recollect Instance has one of the cleanest, easy flowing user interfaces of these 4 Windows Telephone apps. The main pages include a Abode page for your photos and those yous are following'south photos, a Popular page, and an Action Summary page.

Instance Main Pages and Menu

Down beneath on the main pages you accept push controls to launch your "Me" pages, refresh the screen, get-go the upload process, and search Instagram. The "Me" pages cover your profile information, your photo timeline, photos of you, photos you like, a list of who you are following, a list of who'south post-obit y'all, and your "liked" photos.

Instagram features available through Instance include business relationship creation, uploading images (no videos), add comments, like pictures, follow members, find your Facebook friends, delete your images, save images locally to your Windows Telephone, and share images.

Instance Upload and Image View Pages

As with other Instagram apps, Instance allows y'all to upload images from your Pictures Hub or launch the native camera app to capture a new prototype to upload.

Daydream, Earp, Graffiti, and Hobbes Instance Filters

Example has twelve creative filters you can add to give your images a more than unique wait. The current filters are,

• Daydream, January, Lofi
• Earp, Times, Grace
• Jack, Hobbes, Graffiti, Gorlini
• Da Vinci, and Van Gough

I say current because Case can update the filters without the demand to update the app. Granted the other apps may be able to do the aforementioned but it's still a neat feature.

Instance is a very clean looking, easy to navigate around Instagram client app for your Windows Telephone 8 device. In that location are two versions bachelor in the Windows Phone Store.

You have Instance Free that is... well... free and ad-supported. Then there's the paid version of Instance that is currently running $one.29 and is advertizement-costless.

6Tag (gratis/one.29): 6tag hit the Windows Telephone Store shelves merely a short while ago and is currently the just Instagram client with the ability to view and upload still images and video to your Instagram account.  6tag does have a bit of a minimalistic approach as far as pattern is concerned which can be a little confusing. The design works but at times you'll have to hunt for some of the features.

6tag Chief, Profile and Settings Pages

The atypical principal page displays your Instagram timeline of your photos and photos from those you follow. From the main page y'all have three control buttons forth the bottom of the screen that pulls up your account activity, launch the upload process, and search Instagram.

Upwardly under the three-dot menu are links to your likes, a refresh command, admission to 6tags settings and a link to the Most screen. At the top of the main page you have a thumbnail of your profile picture that when tapped will pull up your Instagram profile and a numbered circumvolve that indicates new activity. Tapping the circle volition pull your account activity.

6tag'due south settings allow you to modify your Instagram profile, add several social networks/photo websites (Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Tumblr, FourSquare, and VK) to your sharing options, turning on/off your Live Tile, a few general options, and a Observe Friends setting to help you lot locate Instagram friends through your contacts, Facebook, Instagram, and friends suggested past 6tag.

6tag'due south Instagram features include the power to upload both video and even so images, business relationship creation, view your comments and post comments, and similar photos. To comment on a photo you tap on the conversation chimera beneath a photo which will pull up the annotate interface.

You lot also have the ability to Geotag photos and view other fellow member'southward tagged photos in map view. Just tap on the Instagram user's name that sits beneath their photo. This will pull up their profile page and in the upper right corner are two buttons. One to follow or un-follow the member, the other is a globe that will brandish a map with thumbnails of tagged images pinned to where always the Geotag places them at the fourth dimension of capture.

6tag has plenty of features just you tin't delete an image or save an image to your Windows Phone.  I tin can see the power to save an prototype locally not beingness a major loss but it would exist nice to be able to delete your photos.  As far as uploading an image, 6tag allows you to upload images from your Pictures Hub or launch a native camera app to capture a new image to upload.

UPDATE: 6tag does have the ability to save images and delete your images from Instagram.  Just side swipe or flip the prototype for the options.  Thanks to our insightful readers for the description.

6tag Camera and Upload Pages

When you tap the capture button off the principal page 6tag volition launch information technology'due south own photographic camera app that has an selection to choose an existing file to upload instead of capturing a new one.  The camera app for 6tag is really basic with options to choose still or video capture, toggle on/off a Dominion of Thirds filigree, toggle betwixt front and rear cameras, and flash controls. Beyond that in that location's not much to meet with the camera app only it does capture decent images.  My approximate is that it taps into the default settings from the native Windows Phone camera app.  It would be nice to have a few more controls on the camera app but I don't see it beingness a deal breaker.

Mayfair, Toaster, Hefe, and Kelvin 6tag Filters

As far as still images are concerned, whatever you choose (new or a pic from the Pictures Hub) y'all take nineteen effects filters to apply to your epitome and tools to rotate, add together borders, blur and add contrast to your images.  The tools are a prissy touch and helps you fine tune your images further before uploading.

The filters include,

• Amaro, Mayfair, Rise
• Hudson, Valencia, Ten-Pro Ii
• Sierra, Willow, Lo-Fi
• Earlybird, Sutro, Toaster
• Brannan, Inkwell, Walden
• Hefe, Nashville, 1977, Kelvin

Video capture is washed past pressing and property the physical shutter button. A red progress bar is displayed in a higher place the viewfinder to indicate how much of the sixty seconds of footage you have remaining. Release the shutter push button before the sixty second mark and recording is paused.

In addition to uploading things to Instagram, yous tin also share the images with your social networks (set up in the settings).

6tag's force is with it's video capabilities. I would have to say the user interface would exist the app'southward weakness simply non to the betoken of making 6tag a terrible pick of Instagram clients. The more you use 6tag, the easier the interface becomes.  It's that initial learning curve that is the steepest after which everything begins to period smoothly.  I wouldn't mind seeing more from the camera app such every bit scene modes, exposure compensation, etc.

Overall, 6tag is a worthy Instagram customer for our Windows Phone.  If you are a video sharing addict, for the time being information technology'southward the only game in town.  Oh.. 6tag is following suit with Instagraph by offering back up to other apps to enable Instagram sharing.  We're seeing 6tag integration with Ciel and Apict.

6tag is a complimentary, ad-supported app for Windows Phone eight that you can detect hither in the Windows Phone Store. Yous tin can get rid of the ads through an in-app purchase of $one.29.

Wrap Up

So which is the best? Information technology actually all boils down to personal preferences. If video is a must, then 6tag is the just horse in the race for now. If yous want more editing options, Instagraph may be your choice. It could boil down to the filter choices. Many of the filters are very similar but at that place's enough variety that it could make a difference to some.

You have ii options that have custom camera apps merely they actually don't give either a nudge. Specially if your using Nokia'southward Pro Cam or a more than feature rich tertiary party selection such every bit Pro Shot.

I tin can run into pros and cons with each and would be hard pressed to choose just one. I go on all 4 on my Windows Telephone, swapping back and forth regularly.

The upside to it all is that even though we don't have an official Instagram we have some really appealing alternatives (that are continually improving) that makes the urgency for an official app non so urgent. The downside to non having an official app is that Instagram can brand things challenging, as we've seen earlier, for these third party apps.

And then what equally ye? What'south your favorite Windows Phone Instagram customer? Audio off below in the comments and let us know.

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Source: https://www.windowscentral.com/instagramming-our-windows-phones

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