Utility takes inspiration from Instagram

Facebook has launched its own camera app for the iPhone (free, App Store), complementing the social network's existing iOS utilities. Following on the heels of the company's recent Instagram buyout, Facebook Camera provides a photo editor that can be used to crop shots or apply various filters.

As expected, the app is tightly integrated with the social network. Users can simultaneously post multiple photos from their camera roll, or view a single feed containing all images uploaded by friends. Additional features enable quick tagging or captioning.

Facebook just last month agreed to pay $1 billion for Instagram, a developer that offered popular photo-sharing apps for iOS- and Android-based devices. It is unclear if Facebook tasked any of the Instagram team with helping develop the new camera app, though the release timing suggests the utility may have been mostly completed ahead of the acquisition.

Facebook Camera is now available for the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, fourth-generation iPod touch, iPad 2, and the third-generation iPad.

by MacNN Staff