Instagram for iPhone hits 1 million users, next stop – Android

They say the first million comes the hardest, but not so much for iPhone photo sharing and editing app Instagram, which just announced that it has hit 1 million users in less than three months after it was launched on the App Store. Pretty good for a startup company of two people, right? But the plans do not end here – co-founder Kevin Systrom shared with TechCrunch that an Android version is in the works as well.

“Android is really important to us, and we know it’s important to lots of people too,” Systrom said. Unfortunately, there are no details about just when it is coming, but what is known is that an API to let developers better interact with Instagram will take priority over an Android version of the app. What the company aims however is an even wider integration with other social services to make it truly a life-sharing app. Right now Instagram photos are shown on the right-side pane of Twitter, while Foursquare integration allows you to check-in with a location by posting an Instagram picture of the place.

Times when it was just two people working on the idea however are long gone and now Instagram resides comfortably in what used to be the office of Twitter. The app is free and not only lets you share photos easily on social networks like Facebook and Twitter, but also spices up the photos with a range of tools including retro filters and stylish frames. The work is going on intensively and just last weekend the service launched two new filters and expanded language support.

The only open question for the company is funding and if it raises the $5 million it is rumored to raise from venture capital firm Benchmark Capital, we might see those additions roll out even faster.

source: Instagram's blog and TechCrunch