When Instagram's Hyperlapse app was released last year, people rushed to try its cool time-lapse effects. Well, Microsoft was working on its own technology, and it's now available for Windows phones and Android.

Officially, Microsoft Hyperlapse is a beta for Android and a preview for Windows desktop machines; it's a full-fledged app for Windows phones. On the Windows and Android mobile platforms, the app allows you to capture and lapse video captured with the smartphone's camera, while on Windows PCs, the app serves as a time-lapse editor for video captured on GoPro cameras and other devices. Essentially, the Windows app is the hyperlapse editor that Microsoft disclosed last year.

A hyperlapse takes video shot over a period of say, fifteen minutes, and compresses it down to just a minute or so. The result, of course, is that the video accelerates through what would normally be a lengthy movie at a speedy clip. You've probably seen the technique used when cameramen record video of the stars slowly moving overhead at night, ships moving through a harbor, or a building being built. Microsoft's app allows you to record at different speeds, however, so you can vary the effects.

Here's a hyperlapse video shot with the new app:

But there's another aspect to the Hyperlapse app technology: stability. The app actively smooths the video as it's compressed, so that a job through the park or a skateboard ride down a hill doesn't produce a video that bounces all over the place.

For Windows, you'll need Windows Phone 8.0 and one of the following devices: the Lumia 435, 530, 532, 535, 630, 635, 636, 638, 640, 640 XL, 730, 735, 830, 930, 152, or the HTC One M8.

Android users will need to use supported phones running at least Android 4.4. Microsoft says that the apps are being released without official support, if that makes a difference to you.

Why this matters: Microsoft Lumia owners have always taken pride in owning one of the best cameraphones on the market, but they're also aware that Windows app support is typically lacking. With the new Hyperlapse app, Microsoft Lumia owners can add to their stable of camera apps (and there are quite a few already!) with the neat—if somewhat gimmicky—hyperlapse technology.