It’s not easy to build an alternative iPhone camera app: many tried, most of them failed, the one I loved was removed and the developers never got back to us. It’s not easy because Apple’s default camera application requires literally two taps to snap a picture, and there you have it in your camera roll. Where many developers failed is in simplicity and user approach: they promoted their app as the “best camera app for iPhone”, and they stashed 300+ features in it, making it impossible to use for the average iPhone owner.

So either you build an app for professionals (almostDSLR comes in mind), or you create something different. The latter option is exactly what the Instagram developers got right: they built a simple app to take pictures and make them prettier, and they wrapped it up with social features in order to create a brand new community around Instagram. A camera app with a social network inside it? The cool thing is, this could singlehandedly redefine the concept of “simple camera apps” on the iPhone for the months to come. Instagram is that good. Read more