Instagram video gets import option, works on more Android phones

With the update, video is accessible to more people and fit for broader purposes.

(Credit: James Martin/CNET)

Facebook-owned Instagram will now let members share video footage from the past with a new version of the application that includes the option to import clips from the smartphone's media library.

Instagram version 4.1, released Wednesday, comes with the video import option and broader Android support so that people using a device running the Android 4.0 operating system, aka "Ice Cream Sandwich, can also use the service's 15-second video feature.

(Credit: Instagram)

In addition, the iOS version of Instagram now comes with a new camera tool that automatically straightens crooked photos.

"We're happy to announce that we've developed a brand new technology that brings you straight photos instantly. When you take a photo with the in-app camera, you can now tap the new Straighten icon and your photo will correct to be level -- it's that simple," Instagram said in a blog post. "The straightening tool also includes a slider so you can rotate and adjust any photo -- including ones imported from your photo library -- as much or as little as you'd like."

The considerable update comes less than two months after Instagram released a video option for shooting 15-second clips in bits and pieces. The option to import videos adds a new dimension to the experience and gives people the ability to chose from their previously recorded clips and trim them as needed, meaning video captures don't have to be as spontaneous as before.

The import option also distinguishes Instagram video from predecessor Vine. The Twitter-owned app for creating 6-second videos that loop does not currently allow users to select previously recorded video clips. The apps are now dueling for the mobile video crown. With 130 million active users, Instagram has a larger audience by default. Vine, however, is growing exactly as Twitter as would have hoped, according to CEO Dick Costolo. The quirky video app was the most downloaded non-game application on Apple's App Store in June.