Since its release in October 2010, iOS (and now Android) app Instagram has risen to staggering popularity in the mobile community. In just two months, Instagram registered 1 million users, and by June 2011 it had 5 million users. 3 months later, it passed through 10 million, and in April of this year that number was higher than 30 million. By August 2011 over 150 million photos had been taken. Its popularity on iOS couldn’t be contained, and with its release in Google Play, Instagram clocked 1 million downloads in just 12 hours.

With that said, Instagram 3.0 is here. Each Instagram update involves focus on a particular aspect of the software. The chosen “theme” for this release is browsing experience, and so Instagram now contains fresh and exciting ways to view your own photos, and the photos of other people. Browsing is now much faster, particularly on newer devices, and the software now features infinite scrolling to make browsing easier. Improved reporting tools mean users can now flag comments and photos with ease, helping to keep the “Insta-universe” a safe and friendly place.

Of particular note are Photo Maps, a browsing tool that allows you to showcase your photos on a global map, as well as allowing you to view other users maps.

There are also new look user profiles, an Explore tab, and pages for hashtags and locations.

There’s also a new upload screen, complete with larger boxes for captions, and Geotaging!

For a full summary of the update, check out the video below!

Instagram 3.0 App Store Download

@TiP_Stephen