Facebook Buys Instagram for $1Billion; Instagram New Update Adds Android Tab Support

[dgstorm]

We have several bits of interesting news regarding Instagram today, and this is not an April Fool's Joke, just to make that perfectly clear. The first juicy morsel is a "breaking" news piece indicating that Facebook just bought Instagram for $1 Billion Dollars. In a combination of cash and stock, Facebook just brokered a deal that is expected to be finalized later this quarter after facing regulatory scrutiny.

The second bit of news from them is that the newest 1.0.3 update they just pushed out will add Android tablet support on top of a few bug fixes. This Android tablet support is primarily visual, and makes it easier to use Instagram on the larger screen size. The update will also allow Android users to install the app to their SD card as opposed their device’s internal memory.

The last bit of interesting news with Instagram is that they the app has already been downloaded over 5 Million times in just 4 days. Wow! No wonder Facebook saw them as a smart investment...

Here's a quote from Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook, regarding the acquisition:

I’m excited to share the news that we’ve agreed to acquire Instagram and that their talented team will be joining Facebook.

For years, we’ve focused on building the best experience for sharing photos with your friends and family. Now, we’ll be able to work even more closely with the Instagram team to also offer the best experiences for sharing beautiful mobile photos with people based on your interests.

We believe these are different experiences that complement each other. But in order to do this well, we need to be mindful about keeping and building on Instagram’s strengths and features rather than just trying to integrate everything into Facebook.

That’s why we’re committed to building and growing Instagram independently. Millions of people around the world love the Instagram app and the brand associated with it, and our goal is to help spread this app and brand to even more people.

We think the fact that Instagram is connected to other services beyond Facebook is an important part of the experience. We plan on keeping features like the ability to post to other social networks, the ability to not share your Instagrams on Facebook if you want, and the ability to have followers and follow people separately from your friends on Facebook.

These and many other features are important parts of the Instagram experience and we understand that. We will try to learn from Instagram’s experience to build similar features into our other products. At the same time, we will try to help Instagram continue to grow by using Facebook’s strong engineering team and infrastructure.

This is an important milestone for Facebook because it’s the first time we’ve ever acquired a product and company with so many users. We don’t plan on doing many more of these, if any at all. But providing the best photo sharing experience is one reason why so many people love Facebook and we knew it would be worth bringing these two companies together.

Source: GigaOm and UberGizmo

 

[johnomaz]

Meh, I removed it from my phone already. I don't use any social website anymore and I have other apps that can apply filters to my photos. Hope it works out for both companies in the coming months.

 

[jacestone40]

We have several bits of interesting news regarding Instagram today, and this is not an April Fool's Joke, just to make that perfectly clear. The first juicy morsel is a "breaking" news piece indicating that Facebook just bought Instagram for $1 Billion Dollars. In a combination of cash and stock, Facebook just brokered a deal that is expected to be finalized later this quarter after facing regulatory scrutiny.

The second bit of news from them is that the newest 1.0.3 update they just pushed out will add Android tablet support on top of a few bug fixes. This Android tablet support is primarily visual, and makes it easier to use Instagram on the larger screen size. The update will also allow Android users to install the app to their SD card as opposed their device’s internal memory.

The last bit of interesting news with Instagram is that they the app has already been downloaded over 5 Million times in just 4 days. Wow! No wonder Facebook saw them as a smart investment...

Here's a quote from Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook, regarding the acquisition:



Source: GigaOm and UberGizmo

is that a good thing or a bad thing I'm really not fond of waste book period

 

[wicked]

Instagram team when they got the 1 Billion offer:

 

[OneTenderRebel]

Instagram team when they got the 1 Billion offer:

hahaha exactly my thoughts. Can you imagine developing an app and within a year or two you are able to sell it for 1 BILLION freaking dollars. Not million, BILLION!!!! That's like many many millions.

 

[OneTenderRebel]

In other context, Instagram is worth as much and more than many pro sports franchises.

 

[jkhonea]

In other context, Instagram is worth as much and more than many pro sports franchises.

At least Instagram is potentially worth the money, unlike most sports franchises. ROFL

 

[wicked]

Google purchased YouTube for 1.65 Billion in 2006... comparing the 2 deals, makes you feel that Google got a bargain doesn't it?

 

[saintlikesniper]

How in the hell does Farmville cityville and any other ville get that much money. Somebody explain how a free social networking sites gets that much money

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[FoxKat]

How in the hell does Farmville cityville and any other ville get that much money. Somebody explain how a free social networking sites gets that much money

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it's all about traffic and potential for huge advertising incomes

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2 Beta-6

 

[Josefius]

Meh, I removed it from my phone already. I don't use any social website anymore and I have other apps that can apply filters to my photos. Hope it works out for both companies in the coming months.

I did the same thing, I deleted my FB account permanently last year as well.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus

 

[meishkov]

How in the hell does Farmville cityville and any other ville get that much money. Somebody explain how a free social networking sites gets that much money

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Quite simple. You tell them everything they want to know about you, and in return they sell that information to advertising soliciting and marketing companies. Who then in turn have targeted ads directed towards you. Not a bad business model for the guys who figured it out, not my style tho. Just seems too down right sleazy for my taste.

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[djsiva]

How in the hell does Farmville cityville and any other ville get that much money. Somebody explain how a free social networking sites gets that much money

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Don't forget that Zynga and these other companies actually take in real cash too. People pay with REAL money to buy fake Farmville/Cityville/etc. money, coins, houses, etc.