Finally. After the longest wait, Instagram has now made it to the Android platform. Co-founder Kevin Systrom announced at SXSW Sunday that the long-awaited Android version of Instagram is nearly here.

He teased the version on stage, but too bad he didn't provide a demo. The version is currently being tested in private beta and will be released soon.

“In some ways, it’s better than our iOS app. It’s crazy,” Systrom said. In a Q&A following his presentation, Systrom said the app is fast, works great on large screens and can share photos to Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and other networks.

Why the long wait?  “I don’t think it took us so long. We just had priorities. Had we tried to be both on Android and iPhone at the same time, it would’ve been tough to innovate in the way that we have,” he said.

I suppose better to be late and working awesome than creating a batchjob of a hack that sucks.