Last week we reported on rumors that Instagram co-founder and CEO Kevin Systrom might use his platform at this year’s South By Southwest (SXSW) conference to announce the launch of Instagram for Android.

Sure enough, speaking at the conference yesterday, Systrom did just that. Though the app is not available yet, he promised that it would be coming “very soon.” In an interview with TechCrunch, Systrom promised that the app would be “better than our iOS app” in some ways.

Systrom also highlighted the popularity of Instagram. One of the first apps to take full advantage of the much-improved camera of the iPhone 4, Instagram has been downloaded 27 million times since launching in 2010, Systrom said. In the year and a half since launch the app has remained iPhone-only, a fact with frustrated many Android users. The immense popularity of the Android platform, though, means that an Instagram Android app was virtually inevitable.

There is no word on Instagram for Android’s availability apart from Systrom’s statement that it was coming “very soon.” The app is currently in private beta testing. There is also no word on price, however the app will almost certainly be free, just like the iOS version.

While many Android users are understandably excited by this news, the reactions on Twitter tend to focus on how long it’s taken the Android version to be ready, with a few using it as an opportunity to score points in the never-ending Android vs. iPhone debate. Check out some of the reactions below.

Are you excited to see Instagram coming to Android? Let us know what you think in the comments.