Meerkat Live Streaming App Now Available for Android in Public Beta

The live video streaming service confirmed the news via a tweet and said, "We're opening up Meerkat for Android to external beta testers!" The company has given a link to a Google form that can be filled by Android users after which they can access the beta version of the Android Meerkat app. As of now, there is no word whether the Meerkat will limit the number of beta users.

It's worth noting that Periscope, Twitter's live streaming app, and rival Meerkat are only available for users on iOS. The launch of an Android app for both will mean a drastic increase in the number of users using such live broadcasting services. After Meerkat enjoyed the limelight for a month or so, Twitter finally launched Periscope by end of March for iPhone users. It enjoys deeper integration with Twitter when compared to Meerkat. However, Meerkat was the first to market and has been far more popular than Periscope since its launch.

To recall, Meerkat had garnered much interest across the Web through its ability to allow Twitter users to share video streams in real time. The stream could be triggered with a link in tweet or by a notification to Twitter followers who use the Meerkat app. Interestingly, anyone can see the live stream through the Web or Meerkat app. Viewers can also comment with sending Twitter @ replies. The streamed video disappears like Snapchat, unless users save it at their end.

Meerkat last month announced it raised $14 million in venture funding, and some of the funding round participants were Comcast Ventures, Entree Capital, Raine Ventures, Sherpa, Slow Ventures, and Universal Music Group among others.