Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Facebook Launches 'Camera' Photo App

Facebook on Thursday launched a photo-sharing app called Facebook Camera, which aims to make it simpler for the social network's users to upload and browse photos on smartphones.The news comes only weeks after Facebook spent $1 billion on a similar photo-sharing app called Instagram. And only days after the company's initial public offering got a lukewarm reception from Wall Street and raised the eyebrows of financial regulators.The company says the app, which will be available late Thursday for Apple iOS devices, makes Facebook photos more fun and accessible.

Instagram or Facebook Camera?Facebook paid $1 billion for InstagramCNN Explains: IPOs "When you launch the app, you'll see a feed of just great photos from the people you care about," the company said in a press release. "You can swipe to see more of any album or tap to enlarge an individual photo."The app lets users crop photos and add colorful filters. And people who use the app also can upload multiple pictures at once. "Just select the shots you want to share by tapping the check-mark on each photo and then hit post," Facebook's statement says. "You'll have a chance to add a caption, say where you were and tag friends before you share."Hidden camera shows 520 Bridge workers drinking on job.

The app gets generally good marks from early reviewers, who say it is much faster than the primary Facebook app and displays photos in a large, crisp fashion.But the comparisons to Instagram are confounding tech bloggers, who are trying to figure out to what degree Facebook was influenced by the company it purchased.Mike Isaac, a writer at the blog All Things D, calls the app "Instagram redux," since the release comes so closely on the heels of the company's purchase of that startup.While there are key similarities between the apps, he writes, Facebook "was most likely working on this product long before buying Instagram was ever a real possibility."

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