Instagram For Android Hits 1m Downloads in Under 24 Hours

I'm still a little bemused that Instagram sat on a runaway Android blockbuster for this long. It's like watching a race car driver fiddle with the stereo for 2 minutes after the green flag drops.<p>Did they think it was going to be a dud on Android? Were they not worried about competitors? Is Android development that much more difficult than iOS? I'd really love to know the internal justification for the delay.<p>I'm glad for them that it all worked out, but it seems like they really dodged a bullet by making their Android user base wait it out. Especially since there is considerable reason to believe that Android users will turn out to be their biggest subset.

This release has triggered an interesting reaction:<p><a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/katienotopoulos/iphone-users-disgusted-by-android-instagram" rel="nofollow">http://www.buzzfeed.com/katienotopoulos/iphone-users-disgust...</a>

I'm one of those 1m, but just to see what all the fuss was about. To be honest I'm still a little bemused as to what unique problem it solves?<p>Maybe sharing of photos on iOS was a chore, but this is built in to Android by design.<p>The filters are all rather "meh", not especially outstanding or creative.<p>It's really frustrating because normally if I don't use or even like a product and I can still rationalize and see why others might. But I just feel like I'm missing out on "getting it" with this.

For the still confused who ask why Instagram is skyrocketing despite many other well-made competing products: It's not relevant to build an outstanding product, it's about building the largest user base if the product has slightest potential for user-to-user-interaction.<p>Then you locked the market.<p>(But honestly: I am on Android and feel still a little clueless about Instagram's success, too)

I feel like many of the comments here are focusing on "what does this solve that hasn't been done before" type of comments. I think those are largely missing the point of instagram. Instagram's value is in the network, and its pairing with easy to use tools.