Windows Phone doesn't need more half-baked apps, so why launch Instagram?

Like my colleague Brian Fagioli said yesterday in his story announcing the arrival of Instagram on Windows Phone, the lack of apps is frequently among the criticisms that pundits have for the tiled smartphone operating system. It is very much a real problem, but one which is slowly getting remedied through new releases such as Instagram, Vine and Waze. More halo apps are coming, there is no question about it, but are those -- or will they be -- good enough?

When pundits say that Windows Phone has an app problem, the consensus is they are referring to the number of apps available in Store. I believe that it will slowly shift towards the quality of apps available in Store. Again, this would be -- and is -- another real issue. The examples that best emphasize this are Vine and, most recently, Instagram.

After Vine launched on Windows Phone I was among the first to point out that the new app will have to compete against a very powerful and popular third-party offering called 6sec. It is the work of developer Rudy Huyn, the man behind other offerings like 6tag and 6snap (a third-party Snapchat client that just arrived). Needless to say, 6sec is better overall.

The same issue holds true today with Instagram -- Huyn's 6tag is better. It is much better, in fact, I would recommend anyone using it to keep doing so -- or get it if they have not done so already -- and ignore Instagram. Don't bother trying the official flavor, because you will be disappointed. At least, until Instagram decides to treat Windows Phone users as first class citizens -- right now that is not the case.

The app may be in beta, so you might think that Instagram has a very good excuse. Well, excuses do not cut it. First off, no one forced Instagram to release a half-baked app and, second, Huyn developed a very, very good third-party client and released it in beta trim in less than two weeks. I would imagine that Instagram has more developers working for it -- or it, perhaps, should have -- compared to 6tag, which is the work of a single man and a very small, albeit dedicated, group of users.

"So what is wrong with Instagram?", you ask. Well, the app lacks polish and has launched with major missing features (compared to both 6tag and its Android and iOS counterparts). Those who may try it will undoubtedly get the feeling that it was released just for the sake of being released.

While 6tag and Instagram for Android and iOS allow users to post videos, the official Windows Phone client does not. Keep in mind that this feature was introduced in early-August and, therefore, is not a new and cutting-edge one. It is quite strange that the app can play videos though, but cannot record them. However, that does not hinder Instagram's revenues, as the service will be able to serve you video ads, on top of photo ads.

Heck, even the snapping photos part is not executed properly. The official client does not come with its own camera interface, as it uses the built-in Camera functionality from Windows Phone 8 (that is also capable of video recording). This sort of terrible execution will not sway Instagram fans, that are currently using Android smartphones and iPhones, to switch to the tiled mobile OS. Details matter -- the "big whales" of Instagram will avoid Windows Phone like the mobile plague.

There are other missing features too, like the lack of options to tag other folks in pictures and view photo maps. Does 6tag have any of these problems? The answer is a very resounding "No"; in fact it adds exclusive ones like themes. With the risk of repeating what I just said, a single man with the help of a small community managed to shame a billion-dollar service with significant resources at its disposal. It is time for Instagram to stick its head in the proverbial sand.

Instagram is good for two big things -- snapping photos and shooting videos. So if it cannot get more than half of that right at launch then why bother launching it in this state in the first place? Windows Phone users have had enough beta testing, why subject them to more?

Windows Phone may be very attractive but if popular developers have an Android and iOS-first philosophy when it comes to releasing apps and updates then why should Android and iPhone users give up their current devices to embrace Windows Phone? Something has to change for the better, otherwise getting popular apps on the platform will only help Microsoft feel good about itself, and not current adopters and prospective users.

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