instagram

Facebook closes Instagram deal, welcomes its 5B shared photos

With Facebook's purchase of Instagram officially closed, the social network giant welcomed the photo-network's community today.

In the message, the two companies promised that "Instagram isn't going anywhere" and said they would work to improve the app for the community, which has shared over 5 billion photos over the network so far.

"As we said from the beginning, we are committed to building and growing Instagram independently," Facebook's Mike Schroepfer wrote in the message. "Instagram will continue to serve its community, and we will help Instagram continue to grow by using … Read more

Crave giveaway: Canvas-mounted Instagram pics from CanvasPop

Congrats to Melvin A. of Palm Coast, Fla., for winning a Tokyoflash Kisai Upload wristwatch in last week's giveaway. Into Instagram? Then you'll be into this week's prize. The winner gets two Instagram photos printed on canvas by CanvasPop.

CanvasPop's Instagram printing service creates gallery-quality photos you can hang on your wall. If you're anything like the Crave readers who submitted their amazing Instagram shots for our gallery series last year, you've done some Instagramming that deserves to be shown off. The winner of this week's giveaway gets two 20x20-inch prints of their … Read more

Download photos quickly with Free Instagram Downloader

Raise your hand if you think Instagram makes it almost too easy to share your photos. The hand without the phone! Too late: snapped, sent, and shared. All that remains is for millions of friends to download it. That could happen more easily than you'd think if they have Free Instagram Downloader from iWesoft. This free app makes it easy to download snapshots and other images shared on Instagram. All you need is the user's name.

We installed and opened Free Instagram Downloader, which has a simple and attractive interface that features an Office-style ribbon toolbar with three … Read more

Facebook gets official OK to issue stock in Instagram deal

Facebook has been officially cleared to start issuing stock for the Instagram acquisition.

A fairness hearing, the last hurdle for Facebook before it could move forward with its Instagram deal, concluded today with the expected approval, a Facebook spokesperson has confirmed.

No other details were released.

The Federal Trade Commission issued a statement last week that it had concluded its investigation. Today's fairness hearing allows Facebook to bypass federal registration, which can cost companies hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The Instagram acquisition was once valued at $1 billion in cash and stock. With Facebook's stock price at $19 … Read more

Create a collage from your iPhone photos with Mixel

iPhone users are always looking for ways to show off their photos and make them look fancier than they really are. Whether it's through Instagram, Hipstamatic, or one of the various frame apps. Well, I have a new app for you to try. It's an app trying to make it easy for iPhone users to create a collage in a matter of minutes.

Mixel (free)Apple iPhone 4S - 16GB - white (Verizon Wireless), a recent addition to the App Store, allows you to quickly make a collage out of photos stored on your iPhone, or imported photos … Read more

Instacube: A digital photo frame for Instagram hipsters

Once-hot digital photo frames are now relegated to the holiday gift sales section at department stores. But the digital frame may be about to get its groove back thanks to Instacube, an Instagram-specific display.

The bigger-is-better concept is alive and well with this Kickstarter project. The squared-off Instacube streams your Instagram photo feed in a much larger format than you can view on your little smartphone screen.… Read more

Facebook cleared to acquire Instagram

The Federal Trade Commission has cleared Facebook's proposed purchase of mobile photo-sharing app Instagram.

FTC commissioners voted unanimously to close the agency's investigation into deal, once valued at $1 billion in cash and stock, the agency said in a statement. With Facebook's stock price at $19 a share, half of what it was when it went public, the deal is now worth about $747.1 million.

"We are pleased that the Federal Trade Commission has cleared the transaction after its careful and thorough review," a Facebook spokesperson wrote in an e-mail. Instagram representatives did not … Read more

The 404 1,114: Where we'll take the cash, thanks (podcast)

- Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Instagram just lost $300 million, here's why.

- Angry Birds and Green Day partner for new Facebook game.

- Get your financial questions answered on Jill's podcast, Jill on Money!

- Follow Jill Schlesinger on Twitter.

Bathroom break video: Game of Thrones theme song, as performed by a cat.… Read more

Quickly add usernames to comments in Instagram 3.0

Instagram comments and I have a love-hate relationship. On one hand, I love comments because they lead to some funny conversations and feedback regarding photos. On the other, I hate them because hardly anyone who uses Instagram realizes that in order to get alerted of a new comment on a photo other than your own, you have to be mentioned in the comment.

With a subtle tweak in the latest version of Instagram, on the iPhone at least, you can now quickly mention a username in a comment and ensure that they will see your comment or reply. (The Android … Read more