Instagram for Android review

If you haven’t already heard, the iOS-exclusive Instagram app has finally made its way on to Android. For startes, some people might be turned off by the fact that they have to create an Instagram account for the app; you can’t sign up via Facebook or any other social network yet.

The app comes with a good range of 17 filters but lacks some of the finesse that its iOS counterpart has. As of now, the Android version doesn’t have essential features like the ability to share to Flickr. Right now, you can only share to Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare and Tumblr. To add insult to injury, you can’t preview filters before snapping your photo, which is possible in the iOS version.

Nonetheless, the folks behind Instagram have assured us these niggles would be rectified in future updates.

Like Flickr, Instagram’s user interface is nice and clean, and extremely user-friendly. A simple tabbed design keeps it easy for users to navigate. It si definitely more straght forward than Flickr and we would liken the experience to one that’s a hybrid of Tumblr and Twitter. It's Popular stream and log of followers’ activities makes it a breeding ground for sharing, liking and following new users.

Of course, the big draw to Instagram is probably in its community of Instagrammers, currently at 30 million and growing. Given its recent US$1 Billion acquisition by Facebook, it wouldn’t be surprising to see its community grow by even bigger. If you’re into the social space, this is definitely one app to consider.