It's better late than never. Kickstarter, the crowdfunding platform, has finally got an official Android app.
On Thursday, Kickstarter debuted its official Android app on the Google Play store. The app makes its appearance three years after the iOS app for Kickstarter was released.
The app's simplistic Material Design enables users to browse through ongoing campaigns, as well as sign-up/log-in to pledge their support for a campaign.
The app will also let users stay up-to-date on the activities of the people they follow on Kickstarter. Users can also check out Editor's Picks or browse through individual projects that need backing.
The Activity feed on the toolbar lets users remain updated on the campaigns they have already pledged their support to. In addition, they can also search campaigns under different categories.
"We've built in a personal approach to discovering new projects - and connecting to older ones - by including our activity feed. From spotlighting projects your friends have recently backed, to surfacing the latest updates from creators you've supported in the past, activity feed is a play-by-play of all the news that should be on your radar. And if you want the latest from projects you're following immediately, you can also be notified directly when they post an update," notes Kickstarter.
The Android app for Kickstarter seems stable enough, but its late arrival makes one wonder why its development took so much time - especially since an iOS app for Kickstarter was already out.
Interestingly, the Android app for Kickstarter does not have feature parity with its iOS version. The iOS version of the Kickstarter app enables users to post updates and track funding when they are on the move. However, the Android app for Kickstarter is missing this particular functionality - project creators will not be able to manage their campaigns through the app. Portability for Kickstarter campaign managers on Android remains restrictive.
Moreover, the iOS app for Kickstarter has more discovery features when compared to the Android app. There is no specific tablet interface for the Android app, unlike its iOS counterpart.
Since the Android app was launched later than the iOS one, it should have more progressive features. It seems, however, that Kickstarter did the exact opposite.
This is just version 1.0, so a possibility exists that the folks at Kickstarter will bring more features in future updates such as "tools allowing creators to manage their projects."
To download the Kickstarter app for Android you can head to the Play Store.
