File this under “Speculatron”, but the source is Instagram’s CEO which lends these rumors some credence.
According to a recent report on CNET, a version of the insanely popular iPhone photo app (and Apple’s newly announced 2011 App Store iPhone App of the Year) Instagram is coming to Android. Your Samsung Galaxy toting friends will soon be able to share their photos of lunch and puppies (I’m also guilty of both).
“We have two people working on Android now,” Burbn Chief Executive Kevin Systrom told attendees of the recent LeWeb conference in Paris, France. No other timetable was given, What makes this statement different from the previous mentions of Instagram for Android is that I believe this is the first time Systrom has publicly said there are actually people working on it.
Click past the jump for more possible changes coming Instagram’s way. >>>>
Currently, Instagram has approximately 14 million to 15 million users exclusively on iOS. Systrom predicts that number could easily double when the app is ported to Android.
Those numbers will be important. One of the upcoming changes to Instagram will be the additions of advertising on the platform, although Systrom wasn’t specific on whether it would be in the form of banner ads or “sponsored images”.
“Obviously, we didn’t start a business to not make money,” Systrom said. “Our focus now is on growing the network. You really need to build up the network, or no advertisers care.”
Other changes include the possibility of international expansion and the possible addition of video to the app.
“I’m not sure if that includes filters for video or not,” said Systrom at a recent event in Beijing, “but we’ll definitely consider it.
A few thoughts….
It’ll be interesting to see how well the port goes to Android. Will the app have the same features across both platforms or will the app take advantage of any differences the two operating systems have? There are some great cross-platform ports, such as Diptic. There are others from Android to iOS that haven’t gone as well, such as Urbian’s Retro Camera which is a better photo app on Android than it is for iPhone.
Of course, adding millions of new users will make it impossible to get a photo on the Popular page.
Instagram is free and is one of the few decent apps left that run on old iPhone 2G and 3G. iOS Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 3.1.2 or later.
What do you think about an Instagram for Android? Let us know in the comments below.
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Big thanks to Stacy Anderson for pointing me to this one. CNET was used as a source for this story.
