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Facebook launches Instagram-style camera app for iPhone

Hot on the heels of its acquisition of Instagram for $1 billion, Facebook has released its own Instagram-style picture taking application for the iPhone.

The new standalone application is available for free (iTunes link) on the App Store, separate from the existing Facebook and Facebook Messenger applications. With the new software, called "Facebook Camera," users can swipe through a feed of pictures from their Facebook friends, and tap to enlarge an individual photo.

The new software also allows users to share multiple photos quickly, all at once, rather than needing to post one at a time. Users can just select the shots they want to share by tapping the check-mark on each photo, then hitting post.

Facebook Camera also features a built-in photo editor that allows users to crop, rotate and add filters to any picture in the iOS Camera Roll. The photo filters are somewhat similar to options in Instagram, the photo taking application and sharing service that Facebook acquired in April for $1 billion.

While the application appears to compete with Instagram, the new Facebook Camera lacks some defining features of Instagram, such as hashtag sharing for specific topics, and mobile-only social circles. According to The Verge, the Facebook Camera team has been working on the application for months, and likely did not know about the company's plans to purchase Instagram ahead of time.

Facebook Camera is a 4.9-megabyte download available in English. It is compatible with the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, fourth-generation iPod touch, iPad 2, and third-generation iPad, and it requires iOS 4.0 or later.