Periscope comes to Android
After a couple highly successful months on iTunes, the live-streaming app Periscope, which is owned by Twitter, has branched out to Android phones.
The app lets users broadcast live stream video to followers. First launched in March for Apple devices, it became available Tuesday on the Google Play store.
The company said in a blog post, "As a small startup, our initial launch was limited to just iOS, but we've been working really hard to craft an experience that feels special on Android, yet still unmistakably Periscope."
The Android version of the app is largely the same as the original, but does offer a few functions that are unique to the Google operating system, including the ability get a notification when somebody you follow on Twitter broadcasts on Periscope for the first time and a pop-up that allows you to resume watching a video that got interrupted by a phone call or text message.
Periscope has been a huge success for Twitter, which bought the company earlier this year for a reported $100 million. Twitter reported the app had more than 1 million users within its first 10 days. Periscope pounced on the heels of its rival Meerkat, which dominated at Austin's South by Southwest festival in March.
The apps' successes quickly raised questions about privacy and copyright protections. In April, HBO sent "take down" notices to Periscope after users streamed the season premier of "Game of Thrones" for free online. The premium network was hit again this month when the same thing happened during the $100 pay-per-view broadcast of the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight.
That night, Twitter CEO Dick Costolo declared Periscope the true winner of the bout.