Meerkat launches on Android, to rival Periscope

Washington: Live streaming was

the buzz word at SXSW this year. Between Twitch, You Now, 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 aver

age 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.—