Android version for Instagram announced at SXSW

All you Android users waiting for your Instagram fix, you can be assured that the app is on its way to your mobile device. At SXSW in Austin, Texas, the founder of Instagram, Kevin Systrom, announced that Instagram for Android is nearly ready and is currently in private beta testing. According to Mashable, Systrom teased the mobile photo editing and sharing application, but did not provide a demo. He said that the application for Google’s platform is nearly here and will be released “very soon”. In a question and answer session, he even compared the Android version of Instagram to the iOS version. He says, “In some ways, it’s better than our iOS app. It’s crazy.” He described the app to say that it looks good on large screens, and of course, social network sharability to Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook etc. is built in.

Coming soon to an Android device near you

The major question, of course is why Instagram took so long to come to the Android platform. The first whispers of the app coming to Android were heard in early December. Systrom announced that there were people working on the Instagram for Android application at an event in Paris. The app was first released for iOS in October 2010 and already has been reported to have 25 million users. Of course, since they are in the business of making money, moving over to Android is a wise choice. Systrom answered the question saying, “I don’t think it took us so long. We just had priorities. Had we tried to be both on Android and iPhone at the same time, it would’ve been tough to innovate in the way that we have.” Systrom added, confirming the report that Instagram currently stands at 27 million users.

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