Please contact houzz directly at support@houzz.com as they are the people who can discuss this with you. A little bit of sugar would help too :)

Dear Houzz, I would very much enjoy an Android app, too, pretty please. Thank you!

Yes , it will be nice , I can leave my I pad in the car , its bulky to carry around , ;-)

I would probably think that a little sugar would be nice as well, if the clients of Houzz hadn't been asking for an adroid app for over 18 months, and 19 discussions hadn't already been started regarding this issue.

However, that said - once in a while - a business needs a little reality push to get them to prioritize certain actions. This should be a priority item for this company, if not just because the member/clients have been asking for it, but also because it expands the viewing for the companies and designers on the site, and it a company marketing reality.

The answers from Houzz, saying they have been working on it are no longer sufficient. It does not take 18 months to develop and release an app.

Time to get at it or just come clean and say you aren't going to and be happy with the market share they have.

I hit like, and I don't even own an Android phone! LOL

Dear Houzz and Emily,
While I am glad to hear that you are going to release an Android Beta version in the next couple of weeks. I have to tell you I am skeptical.
I am skeptical for the following reasons:
1. Your users have been asking (actually begging) for this app for 18 months.....and nothing.
2. Houzz and Emily have been providing polite yet vague and meaningless answers for 18 months.

You seem to fail to realize some pretty important business fundamentals regarding the Android marketplace, well any highly competitive marketplace actually.

The “creative” community is no longer entirely guided by Lord Apple. While it is the most profitable company in the world, keep in mind that most of the developed world is not enjoying a similar profit margin. Many consumers in this world are looking for a better product at a value oriented price. They want the most bang for their buck. That doesn’t necessarily mean Apple products any longer, there is great design, fabulous functionality without being a member of the house of Apple.

I have been a working member of the film industry for 15 years and it is very very apparent in this industry in which "i" is everything. "i" is being moved over quickly and unceremoniously by Android.

Currently brands that succeed in social media, in which Houzz is centered, operate on the principles of a gift economy. They build relationships, earn status and create social currency.

Houzz is failing at this with regards to it’s app development. By supplying meaningless answers to the ongoing requests for an Android app you are losing credibility and damaging the relationship with your members. This is very visible in tone of many of the requests.

The Houzz brand has a good social currency which you are putting in jeopardy by not expanding, innovating and creating new social currencies by creating an effective Android app in a timely manner.

By not having an Android app you are limiting opportunities for your members, the designers which are represented and the associated products. You are fundamentally shooting yourself in the proverbial foot, while allowing your competition to get a foothold which will be difficult to get back even with your beta version of an Android app. Innovation is the generation of new creative opportunity - you are limiting your's and your communities.

I would highly recommend you step up to the plate, come up with some credible and real answers to your members requests for this app. Get a version of an Android app up and available on your website, the play book and any other place you can ASAP.

Mark my words, if you don't have something useful up in the two weeks that you have mentioned, you will loose credibility with these members and be done by the next tech generation of 18 months.

This is an industry in which the graveyard is much much bigger than the playground. One word for you to really think about Pinterest.

http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/08/understanding_social_medias_gi.html

@kathleenhiggins, why don't you just use a browser on Android. Isn't Google's entire hoopla that you don't need native apps and the web is the killer?

Actually Google's hoopla isn't that at all, but since you brought it up....
The Houzz Apple app has much better functionality than the website. Interestingly unlike most apps that link the website and app user information smoothly - Houzz's app does not link well.
There is more efficient data use with an app and because it is a function basedapp they Houzz would not need to have the website as fully mobile compatible. As the website is not mobile specific, it is almost impossible to read/use on anything smaller than a 15 inch screen and considering that in design the devil is in the details - one would think detail would be important UN the website and apps.

I get so frustrated with my Blackberry :( I can read the emails and link to the web page to read the discussion items but I can't "Like" or comment on them. Will this ever be do-able?

It's doable for Dwell, Pinterest, Dream Home etc. I would say your frustration may stem from your device. I had a company assigned Blackberry for years and hated it. It was a great paperweight.

A Samsung Note or Galaxy III, HTC One V, HTC One X might be something you may like. I would think as a designer the functionality of the note would be great for you. It is mid way between a phone size and a tablet. Many of our creative's on set use them as they are tough, portable, easy to use, they read handwriting directly so they can add notes to pictures directly on the screen for continuity etc. The displays are fabulous and they can stand a bit more abuse than a ipad or iphone.

It might be something to look at.

Kathleen, how kind to take the time to give me some suggestions. I'm locked into a three-year contract with Bell Canada at the moment :( However, when I come up for renewal I will definitely see what else is out there. You've pointed me in a new direction! You know, I think this would be a perfect topic for the Pro-to-Pro forum at that time. We have to be an expert at so many things, but finding an alternative phone and way of working is kind of mind-boggling to me at this moment. Many thanks :)

Hi again, Kathleen. I have been looking at the Samsung Note and I think it would be PERFECT for me. I have 12 more months to wait (argh!) and by then there might even be a newer version available. Thanks again for steering me in a great direction for an upgrade.

Cynthia, I love the "Note" as well.

I really don't need one, but I looked at it a long time before I want with the Galaxy. And you are absolutly correct a new one might be available. There is also the benefit of staying one step behind in technology. It gives time for everyone to work out the bugs and lowers the costs. For the most part the steps in smartphone and such are reasonably incremental currently, so any small benefit may not be worth the cost. So if you choose to wait the year, the Note may be a free phone rather than $50 dollar phone with a three year contract or a $750 dollar phone.

When I switched to Android, I knew I needed an upgrade and I knew that Apple was going to change all of the peripherals on the iphone 5. Just the environmental cost of 10 years and billions of iphone cables, chargers, clock radios, car chargers all hitting the landfills in the next few years made me so angry at Apple I will not buy their products again.

In these days of tar-sands, exhausted fisheries, ocean polution, climate change, toxic food etc - for a company to switch something like their charger cable just to increase their profits when they are the most profitable company in the world is socially irresponsible in my opinion.

Bravo to the lady on the soap box! Let me applaud all your very good points!

I also was really ticked when all my perfectly good Blackberry chargers (one for the car, one with international plug selection, one for the home) all became obsolete because they decided to make the little plug-in end a different size and shape. I had to junk them and buy new.

And I rarely even synch my Blackberry any more because my "new" one always tells me it can't update my calendar without first deleting everything in its history! I have to call support and get them to figure out how to over-ride it. What a pain.

I am ready for a new adventure, and look forward to something new like the Galaxy. I would love to have a larger screen size for web surfing. The Blackberry sometimes lets me "grow" the text to legible size but sometimes nothing helps. I do like having a real QWERTY keyboard, though, and I might miss that. I watched a little video about all the Galaxy features and wonder how long the learning curve will be! Maybe there's a course?!

Thanks again, Kathleen. You're fantastic. :)

We’ve got a beta release of Houzz for Android ready to try out!

For exclusive access, email android(at)houzz.com for the link to download the app.

Because it is not available from Google Play yet, you will be required to allow installation from "Unknown sources".

The exact wording and process for allowing unknown sources varies a bit by brand, device and operating system version, but once approved you will be able to install the app.

If any issues come up or if you have any questions or feedback, please contact android(at)houzz.com. We’re happy to help out.

The Houzz Team

It's awesome! Thank you very much.

Good news! The Houzz app for Android is now available in Google Play. You can grab it right here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.houzz.app