Despite constant rumors of its arrival in the Windows Phone Store, we are still without Instagram. Even the revamped WP8 platform can’t boast of having an official Instagram client just yet. Microsoft and Nokia have been making serious efforts to bring the famous photo sharing service to Windows Phone 8, but with no success so far. As can be expected, there are plenty of third-party Instagram clients available for Windows Phone users, trying to fill the void to some extent. Of course, none of the apps let users post photos to their account, but WPGram comes closest to replicating the functionality Instagram offers on iOS and Android. This app (formerly Metro.am) lets you sign in to your Instagram account, download photos to your device, browse through images based on their location or tags and even supports the whole ‘follow’ system of the service.
There are two ways you can use WPGram. If you have used Instagram before, and want to manage your account from your Windows Phone, login from the option provided at the welcome screen. If you just want to look around, and see what’s all the fuss about regarding Instagram, continue using the app as a guest user. There are some predefined tags and sections that show up in WPGram as soon as you start using it, and they provide a good way of discovering interesting Instagram photos.
From your profile page, you can see if any new users have started following you, or look for people you want to follow yourself. While viewing a photo, signed in users get the option to leave a comment on the image, like it or save it to their device for offline viewing. Images are also zoom-enabled and can display geo-tags. Other than featured photos, WPGram has dedicated sections for displaying images shared by users who are nearby, the most recent pictures and the ones that have received the most acclaim. Apart from the default photo collections, users also get to look for images related to a particular tag or posted by a certain profile. All this is possible via the app’s detailed search feature.
WPGram comes with live tile support, which beautifies your Start screen a great deal. The app also supports push notifications if you connect your Instagram account with it.
- Price: $0.99 (Free trial available as well)
- Compatibility: Windows Phone Mango and Windows Phone 8
