While previously available in beta, Flipboard for Android is now available in the Google Play Store, as well as in the Amazon App Store and Barnes & Noble Nook Store.
“Now you can connect your Google+ account to Flipboard and see all the activity in your Circles in a beautiful magazine format,” Flipboard explains in a blog post. “You can ‘+1’ (Google’s version of ‘like’) any post from within Flipboard, or tap the status update to share, comment and reply.”
“The YouTube experience is similarly transformed, as video browsing becomes more like reading a magazine,” the company adds. “Flip through your subscriptions, uploads and favorites, or enjoy popular feeds like Most Viewed, Trending Videos and Top Favorites.”
Here’s what the app looks like:
The Google+ integration of Flipboard was announced earlier this week, and it should have a significant impact on Google+ use, but the Android release should have an even bigger impact, bringing the popular (on iOS) app to a much wider audience, which should also bode well for Google’s social network.
It may not bode so well for Google’s Flipboard competitor Google Currents, but I’m sure Google would much rather have a presence on Flipboard, and give iOS users less reason to be scared of a transition to Android. With Flipboard on Android (and Instagram, for that matter), some users wouldn’t have to give up their favorite apps to make the switch.
In the US, Flipboard will also be coming pre-installed on the Samsung Galaxy S III, and Flipboard itself is now available in Germany, Italy, Korea, Netherlands and Spain.