by Twitter’s leading video-sharing app Vine is preparing to launch on the Android platform for the first time, according to reports in ReadWrite.com, which has the potential to see massive growth in the number of people using the service.
The app, which allows users to capture, upload and share brief video clips, has been available to this point on iPhone handsets. However, with Android controlling a broader base of the smartphone handset market, opening the app up to more potential users could spell the start of significant growth for its creators.
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Vine is currently used by some 13 million people worldwide. With the introduction of support for Android-powered handsets, it becomes possible for many hundreds of millions of new potential customers to try out the service. Just a few months since its launch, the application has already made significant waves among iPhone users, which analysts expect will cross over into those who can now use the service for the first time.
Vine was developed as a video-only platform, allowing users to capture and upload just six seconds of footage per video. Similar to the Twitter restricted tweet format, the brevity and simplicity of the videos it propagates is part of its strength as a platform. To date, it has been used mainly for sharing entertainment videos and memes. But the expectation now is that marketers could use Vine to build an audience and increase their relevance in online social circles.
The Android version will eventually have the same feature set as the current iPhone video sharing app, although the initial launch will feel slightly different. While all the basic functionalities are there, the Android version is also expected to offer digital zoom capabilities, which would be a benefit over the current version.
Mobile commentator Dan Rowinski said that Twitter will continue to develop the functionality of Vine as it becomes more established on the Android platform.
“Twitter will continue to add new features to Vine on both the iPhone and Android apps, including the capability to use the front-facing camera, search functionality, Twitter mentions and hashtags and the ability to share Vine videos on Facebook. Vine will only be available to users on Android devices running version 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich or higher.”
Vine has set a standard for app launches, garnering a great deal of coverage before its initial launch. Analysts have suggested that choosing to launch for Apple iPhone first has allowed Vine to tweak and refine the platform, ahead of the wider Android roll-out.
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Now the next wave of entrepreneurs and app developers are striving to emulate this success. App developers like Simplikate are being tasked with finding the next big app for their clients. There is no doubt that the Twitter connection has helped immensely with getting Vine off the ground, and very public exposure was guaranteed as soon as the app was announced. However, it is the features of Vine and the simplicity of the user experience that make it so appealing. Analysts are expecting the increased options for those using Vine to have a knock-on effect on its growth.
