Always wondered how your iPhone-toting friends shot such nice pictures on their phones? Well, that Instagram camera app that lets them create, transform and share photos with friends is now coming to Android phones for free.
The company just said on its blog that it is releasing a version for Android users, after some 30 million iOS users have uploaded more than a billion photos since October 2010.
The move means yet another top iOS app is going on the Android bandwagon, following in the footsteps of the likes of the previously iOS-only Tweetdeck, for example.
There have been similar camera apps, like Vignette, which do a pretty job on Android phones. But Instagram seems to have its fans. Apparently, some 430,000 Android users have been on the waitlist to request for the app to appear on Google’s Play store.
They will be happy to know that Instagram aims to have the same features on both Android and iOS. However, for a start, the first version on Android would not have a number of features, such as Tilt Shift/Blur, said the developer in an FAQ:
Our goal is to have a consistent experience between platforms. There are a few features that will not be included in the first version of the Android app (Tilt Shift/Blur, Share from Feed, Live Preview and Share to Flickr), but our upcoming versions are intended to bridge any differences.
The newly-released app works on Android 2.2 and later, so most recent phones should be able to support it. However, there’s no news yet of any versions for Windows Phone or Blackberry.
