Android users who persistently called on Pinterest to make a native Android app finally got their way. On Tuesday, Aug. 14, the rapidly-growing social networking site finally launched a native app for Android devices, as well as an updated app for iOS.

The new apps come roughly one week after the site went public on Aug. 8, ditching its invite-only model to allow anyone to join Pinterest without an invitation. The site had been available on an invite-only basis since its launch in March 2010.

Unveiled at a summer party at Pinterest's new San Francisco headquarters, the new Android app comes as a complete redesign of the Pinterest app from the ground up, this time built specifically for Android devices. Pinterest also announced the new apps in a post on its official blog, saying it had finally granted the wish of "very vocal" Android users who have been requesting an Android app for a long time.

"We were listening, and our custom-designed Android app makes it simple and fast to pin, so that the time you spend on Pinterest is as productive as possible," reads the company blog post. Meanwhile, the new iPad app "offers users new ways to engage with pins, whether swiping the screen to resume browsing after viewing a board, or using the embedded browser to see what others are pinning from their favorite sites." The updated iPhone app also offers a number of new features, including a new two-column style that allows users to see more information on the screen.

Pinterest has grown tremendously since launching just over two years ago, and is now one of the most popular social networking sites. The service lets users share items of interest discovered on various Web sites by "pinning" images to a board. According to online analytics firm comScore, Pinterest has grown its user base remarkably, surging to roughly 23 million users in July from 1 million a year ago. With 23 million users, Pinterest is now the third most popular social networking site, trailing giants Twitter and Facebook. Moreover, Pinterest is expected to see an even more explosive user base growth now that it ended its invitation-only model.

The new Pinterest for Android app is available for download from Google Play, while iPad and iPhone users can download Pinterest for iOS from Apple's App Store. Kindle Fire users will also be able to download the app later this week from the Amazon Appstore for Android.