A More Open Platform: The Instagram API

by atularora • 15 years ago

37 13 15 years ago

albemuth• 15 years ago

I feel tempted to try to build an Android viewer, but then again the official app could be on the way soon...

awolf3• 15 years ago

There is still room for a new type of viewer. Currently the only way to browse Instagram is by what has been recently popular.

BarkMore2• 15 years ago

Instagram is inviting people to signup for access to the API. The API does not appear to be available yet.

Picplz launched their API today (the actual API, not an invitation).

dalton• 15 years ago

yep, here it is: https://sites.google.com/site/picplzapi/home

We also released some code samples and a jquery plugin: https://github.com/mxml

herman• 15 years ago

Putting up a registration page does not equal releasing an API. I'm not sure why every tech blog seems to think it is the same thing.

chapel3• 15 years ago

I don't understand why companies don't make Android apps a priority right off the bat. Unless you are making an app that you plan to sell, most times you will get just as good or better traction on Android.

Look at Angry Birds (edge case, not exactly a great example) and how moving to Android caused them to move to advertising, which ended up making them more money and moving that model to the iPhone.

I think it is bad that there is this mentality that there is iPhone and then there are smart phones. The iPhone shouldn't get any special treatment, because at the end of the day it provides the same thing most any Android phone will.

Now that I realized that this has nothing to do with the OP, I have to say that it is good that Instagram has an API.

BarkMore2• 15 years ago

Instagram was started by a couple of people in August or September 2010. The platform choice was less obvious at that time. They could only pick one platform given that they only had a couple of people and they needed to build both a service and the mobile application.

According to an article on Techcrunch, the Android version of the app will be ready real soon now.

chapel3• 15 years ago

Wasn't a dig on this service specifically, just being an Android fan and user since day one, I find it backwards that Android still gets ignored even though it is a huge force and has great traction. I guess ultimately though, things are changing for the better on all platforms.

TomOfTTB• 15 years ago

The fragmentation issue has been over blown to a certain extent but for apps just starting out it is an issue. There are tons of Android apps out there and virtually no way to test your app on all of them.

Apple on the other hand has almost as many users and you can test your app with just a few phones. As an individual who has his old 3GS, a new iPhone 4 and an iPad I literally have everything I need to test an iOS app.

If Google were smart they'd collect all the various Android devices and offer a testing service to developers. If they charged for it they'd get a new profit stream while simultaneously making it easier for developers to create Android apps.

awolf3• 15 years ago

Instagram picked up 100,000 users in its first week and a million in its first month as an iOS exclusive. Do you think it would have done that on Android? I don't.

chapel3• 15 years ago

Depends on how it was marketed. The reason Instagram went viral is because it is one of those apps that has a network built around it. You share pictures with people, so you have to get other people to install the app so you can share it. Of course it will go viral. I think it is short sighted and plain dumb to think that sticking to just one platform would net you more users? Not to mention, developing for Android using C++ is a viable option now, so it is even easier to port iOS apps over.

Klonoar• 15 years ago

The iPhone is fashionable, Android isn't.

I say this as a devoted Android user. Nobody has come anywhere close to Apple's marketing prowess, and until that day comes it makes absolute sense to build for the iPhone first. This is the same approach the fashion world uses for clothes, and it's a proven model.

While I love Android, it's very much a case of a grandmother trying to dress like she's 20 again - it's not attractive, and while the parts still function, there's really no reason to tap it when the hottest chick in the room is staring right at you.

A More Open Platform: The Instagram API

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