For years now, countless creators have used crowdfunding to give birth to projects that would never have been able to receive traditional funding. And no name is more synonymous with crowdfunding than Kickstarter, the platform for movies, games, electronics, and all sorts of other ideas in need of cash. It's a little strange, then, that it has taken this long for Kickstarter to release an official Android app. It's even stranger that the app features no tools for project creators. Still, Kickstarter for Android is a convenient, free tool for backers and anyone looking to become one.

Getting Started
After launching the app, log into your Kickstarter account to get started. If you don't have an account, you can create one within the app either from scratch or log in with your Facebook account. I tested the app on a Moto X.

Once signed in, users are treated to a mobile Kickstarter experience pretty similar to the iPhone version from three years ago. Menus are easy to navigate and arguably more attractive, thanks to the material design flourishes. It definitely beats using the mobile site, even if the functionality is basically the same. 

Consume, Don't Create!
By default, the Kickstarter Android app displays Staff Picks, projects in which Kickstarter has faith. They're exciting campaigns to be sure—even if the Kickstarter seal of approval doesn't actually guarantee the project will come to fruition—but there are lots of other promising ideas on Kickstarter worth backing. Fortunately, the app gives you the tools to find them. 

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If you've linked your account to Facebook, you can see what projects your friends are backing. Creators rely heavily on their social circles to fund and spread the word on projects. Connecting friends via the projects they back makes that crucial networking even easier on inherently social mobile devices. You can also search for projects under specific categories such as Food, Journalism, or Music, each with its own subcategories. Or you can browse an unfiltered feed of everything as well as search for specific projects manually. If you see a campaign that interests you, star it and return to it later in a separate feed. The splashy project pages contain all the important information, including the description, target goal, days remaining, images, video, and total amount pledged.

Once you decide to bite the bullet and back a project, you can do so right in the app. Choose your pledge amount and whatever awards that come with it. To help the project succeed, share your pledge through various social channels.

In a perfect world, every Kickstarter campaign would run smoothly. Creators would deliver everything they promised and then some on time. Unfortunately, we don't live in a perfect world, and backers pretty much have to constantly monitor the status of projects they've backed to make sure they are still on track. Ignore a project for too long and you may miss that pivotal update detailing when products are shipping out or if the project is outright cancelled whether you like it or not. The good news is that you can quickly and easily check on projects you've backed right in the app by tapping the lightning bolt icon at the top of the screen. It's a lot more convenient then visiting the website or looking out for emails on updates in your inbox.

These are all great features, but they're only features useful for backers. The Kickstarter iPhone app, while limited compared with the Web version, offers a few tools for creators such as campaign management options and notifications when they gain new backers. But the Android app currently has no creator tools whatsoever. Kickstarter says they are coming later, but it's disappointing this app launched years after its iPhone counterpart with a smaller set of features. It would also be nice if tapping a link to a project in the browser redirected you to the app rather than Kickstarter's mobile site. 

We Didn't Kickstart the Fire
The lack of creator tools limits the Kickstarter Android app's usefulness to one segment of the Kickstarter audience, but at least it serves the rest of its audience well. It's the easiest, most convenient method for browsing, backing, and monitoring Kickstarter projects on the go. For backers, it may even replace the need to use the Web version.