Yes, the time has come for Android users to get in on the Instagram action. I'll admit, I love Instagram on my iPhone. It's a great way to share beautiful things you may see in your day to day travels with your followers, makes sharing to social network sites a snap, and turns anyone with an iPhone into a photographer. What starts out as a simple close-up shot of a flower in the grass turns into a surreal image that appears to have been professionally edited after applying one of the numerous filters.

Instagram was launched in 2010 and in the first six months, snapped up five million iOS users. Flash forward to today, and roughly 30 million iOS users have installed the app, and Instagram reports a staggering five million photos are uploaded each and every day. Up until it was released for Android users, there were 430,000 people on a waiting list to obtain it. What's all the fuss about? If you are asking this question, you've likely never used Instagram.

The Amazing Instagram

Install the app to any iOS device, and now any camera equipped Android 2.2 and up (includes support for OpenGL ES 2.) Sorry, no Android tablets just yet. Once you have the app, start taking pictures, or edit pictures already stored on your phone. That's the beauty of the app: it is ridiculously easy to use, and is likely the reason the app has received over 7,000 five-star ratings since its launch. Most people who have rated the app have left comments attributing the five-star rating to ease of use.

So many people are downloading the app since it was released on Google Play. In its first 24 hours, Instagram reported one million downloads. They are also reporting the app is being downloaded at a rate of over 2,000 sign-ups each minute, but this doesn't separate iPhone and Android users.

Limited Functionality

If you've used Instagram for iPhone in the past and take a look at Instagram for Android, you'll notice some features are missing. The filters are all present and accounted for, however the tilt shift/blur feature is not. It may not seem like much, but if you've ever messed around with it on your iPhone, you know how fun this feature is.

I personally love seeing the effects each filter has on my picture before sharing it in the feed on my iPhone, but sadly you cannot do this on an Android. You have to go back and edit if you don't like how a certain filter looks. There is also no option available to share to Flickr, although capabilities to share to Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, and Tumblr remain.

Instagram's CEO Kevin Systrom has reported these features were cut out to more quickly release the app. The features not yet included were the least used features, and the company does plan on adding the features to future app updates.

Availability

Head to Google Play and download Instagram for your Android 2.2 or higher to check it out for yourself if you haven't already. There has been no word as to whether the company plans to offer the app for the BlackBerry or Windows Phone.