Meerkat Launches on Android Before Twitter's Periscope
Live streaming was the buzz word at SXSW this year. Between Twitch, YouNow, Periscope, and Meerkat, the ability to broadcast yourself in real-time is becoming more and more mainstream. Meerkat was the first to garner big hype, but saw that initial buzz fade after the launch of Periscope. Both rely on Twitter for distribution, but Periscope is also owned by Twitter. Today, however, Meerkat launched on Android, beating its larger rival to the punch on the world’s most widely used mobile operating system.
In its first day on the Play Store Meerkat garnered between 100,000 and 500,000 downloads, the lowest range given by Google for apps that cross the six figure mark. It currently has over 1,200 reviews and an average rating of 2.5 stars. On Twitter’s most recent earnings call, CEO Dick Costolo said that Periscope saw one million users sign up in the first ten days after launch.
Neither app is topping the charts right now. Meerkat, after peeking among the top twenty social apps, is now in the top two hundred. Periscope has maintained a position in the top twenty social apps and the top two hundred overall. These are early days for mobile live streaming however, and both apps have become widely used among media outlets and celebrities who want to give their audience a peek into what’s happening in real time.
More from theverge.com:
Tesla Energy is Elon Musk’s battery system that can power homes, businesses, and the world
Watch the history of the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe in 13 minutes
NASA’s seemingly impossible space engine looks more possible after latest test
This is the last image sent by NASA’s Messenger before it crashed into Mercury
Watch Elon Musk announce Tesla Energy in the best tech keynote I’ve ever seen