Instagram-like app now free for Nokia Lumia 822 users

If you happen to have Verizon for your wireless provider and rock the carrier’s variant of the Nokia Lumia 822, then you know that you have a very capable device in your hands. However, the capabilities of a handset also sometimes depend on the applications available in the ecosystem it moves in – in this case, the Windows Phone ecosystem, and we all know that it is not as vibrant nor as dynamic as say iOS or Android when it comes to the number of available apps to be taken advantage of.

For example, Instagram is a very big hit in both iOS and Android but the application is yet to make its way over to the Windows Phone platform. In fact, there has been no news until now if the app will ever become available for Windows Phone-powered devices. This has pushed users of Windows Phone-powered devices such as the Nokia Lumia 822 to look for Instagram clones while waiting for the app to land in the platform – if it ever will, that is.

So while users of the Nokia Lumia 822 are still unsure if they ever will see Instagram become available for the platform, Nokia on the other hand re-released an application called SophieLens which is basically an Instagram clone with only a couple of minor snags. For the uninitiated, SophieLens comes with 5 lenses to choose from which include Xpro, Roid, Mayfair, Flare and Cinematic. In addition to that, Nokia Lumia 822 users also have the option to download a Lomo pack which comes with an additional 9 filters for free. With this app plus the Lomo pack, you now have all the creative options that you need to make the images captured with the shooter of your Nokia Lumia 822 even more attractive. And the best part is that the SophieLens can now be had for free.

With this move, Nokia is clearly trying to please those wanting to get a taste of Instagram on their Windows Phone-powered devices. But at least with SophieLens, you get an app with topnotch filters with interesting effects that the waiting for Instagram (if it ever becomes available) becomes a little bit more bearable.

As for the Nokia Lumia 822, the handset reached official status when it was unveiled back in October but it wasn’t until November when the handset finally landed on the shelves of Verizon in US shores. Under the hood, the handset runs Windows Phone 8 for its operating system and this powered by the QualComm MSM8960 SnapDragon chipset in its internals. This SoC brings into play a dual-core 1.5 GHz Krait processor and a full gigabyte of RAM to generate the computing muscle required by the handset for a flawless performance. The storage space onboard the Nokia Lumia 822 is rated at 16GB while a microSD card slot in its chassis enables memory expansion on the handset. Display-wise, the Nokia Lumia 822 sports a 4.3-+inch AMOLED panel with a 480 x 800 resolution while its dual-shooter configuration includes a rear 8MP shooter and a front 1.2MP snapper.