Snapchat adds video to Android photo sharing app

Snapchat is adding new video capture and sharing features to its popular photo application for Android, bringing the app in line with features available in its iOS counterpart.

Snapchat co-founder Daniel Smith blamed the lag on the challenges of Android development: "The Android phones that many of us use were never designed with Snapchat in mind, and that can be tough when developing a hardware-based application," Smith wrote. "The video feeds and playback behavior can differ greatly--often with no guarantees or warnings. Some users will still experience difficulties… but we hope many of you simply come to love video snaps."

Snapchat enables users to capture photos (a.k.a. "snaps") and clips with their smartphone, overlay a text message and transmit the image to friends. Content is available to the recipient for a pre-determined viewing period between just one and 10 seconds, and then it is permanently deleted from both smartphones and from Snapchat's servers. Nielsen reports that Snapchat attracted 3.4 million unique users in December 2012, doubling month over month, and The New York Times notes users are now sharing more than 60 million photos per day.

Earlier this month, Snapchat completed a Series A venture funding round totaling $13.5 million, led by Benchmark Capital. The New York Times reports the investment values Snapchat between $60 million and $70 million. Blog