This should have Windows Phone users jumping up and down in their seats with excitement. Instagram is officially coming to the platform, with its arrival set to occur in the “coming weeks”.
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The announcement was made during Nokia’s tablet and smartphone event in Abu Dhabi today by Instagram chief Kevin Systrom. While it’s unclear exactly when it will happen, it seems fairly safe to say it will happen before the end of the year.
“Our ultimate goal is to bring Instagram to everyone who wants to use it,” Systrom announced. “We’re looking forward to watching the Windows Phone community use Instagram to capture and share beautiful moments in the coming weeks.”
Naturally Nokia took to Instagram to celebrate the announcement.
For many, Instagram has been the most important app still missing from the Windows Phone ecosystem and its arrival on the platform could provide a major boost in terms of adoption numbers. The presence of a name like Instagram on the Windows Phone store could also push more developers into building for it, helping it compete on a more even keel with the Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store.
It’s also hardly surprising that the announcement was made at a Nokia event. It does, after all, make up the vast majority of the Windows Phone market share. It should also be noted that Nokia has been one of the most vociferous advocates for getting Instagram onto Windows Phone.
Earlier this year for instance, it launched the 2Instawithlove app, which was effectively a campaign to get Instagram on Windows Phone. The general idea was that photos taken using the app would be spread across social networks, showing Instagram just how passionate Windows Phone users were about getting the service on their devices.
It’s unclear whether it was the campaign or the potential for what Instagram could do with Nokia’s next-level cameras that caused it to eventually come on-board. Either way, the results could be pretty spectacular.