AppCraver » Social Networking

Here Say Desperately Needs Some Early Adopters

James Johnson — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 22:44:06 +0000

Here Say is a self-proclaimed “augmented reality” app whose goal is to build a community around the act of posting pictures. The developer freely admits the app is still in Beta, but read his description in the App Store and it’s obvious Design-PT has big goals.

The basic premise behind Here Say is this – you are at a place, say a concert, and you take a picture of the stage through the Here Say iPhone app. You post the picture to the community and attach a comment to it.

In theory, other people will pull out their iPhone (with Here Say installed) and use the built in geo-location feature to find nearby posts and add comments to them. Conceptually it is a noble idea and in terms of the actual application, it is clean, well designed and works.

Unfortunately at this point, Here Say suffers from the same feasibility problems as any other fresh-from-the-oven social media app. The fact of the matter is that any geo-location app built around the act of posting pictures is 100% reliant on its ability to create a vibrant community and Here Say, in its current iteration, does not have the gusto.

That being said, if I were the developer, I would immediately integrate Facebook Connect and the ability to tag people in posts (viral marketing steroids). Next, I would work on a better “augmented reality” interface – the current one is simply a picture with the comment on top.

Then I would start to market the hell out of this badboy to yuppies in urban areas, pray to the gods that Facebook does not add geo-location anytime soon and in no time this Appcraver 6 could be a 9.

app_name: Here Say
rating: 6/10

Friend Mapper is a Cool Concept for the Right Audience

Barbara Holbrook — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 21:00:33 +0000

Friend Mapper — Combine the iPhone’s built-in GPS with our natural tendency to be nosy and you get a plethora of location-based apps that allow users to find, follow and map their friends. Friend Mapper, (formerly Amigo Mapper) by Winkpass Creations, would be just another in this line of apps were it not for one seriously ambitious twist.

Friend Mapper lets you show your location to friends. You can also find friends that have opted to share their location. So far, it’s pretty standard stuff. The twist is that Friend Mapper offers live updating. So, not only can you see that your friend Jane is at the mall, you can watch as she moves from store to store. Or, more practically, if the family is planning to meet for dinner you can watch live as Uncle Larry takes a wrong turn and call him before ends up in the next town. Friend Mapper includes one touch calling or texting for any of your linked contacts.

Did I mention this app was ambitious? Unfortunately, it may be too ambitious for the current iPhone. The caveat to live updating is that it only works if your contact’s iPhone or iPod touch is turned on and they have the app open. Otherwise, it’s just a map which shows where your friends were recently — and if your friends don’t tend to update their location, it may not even do that.

Friend Mapper also works much better with iPhone 3G or 3G S. Original iPhone, without built-in GPS, won’t locate or track as precisely. Of course, this isn’t Friend Mappers fault.

In fact, most of what’s wrong with Friend Mapper isn’t the developers fault. It’s a brilliant idea. If only the iPhone could run multiple apps. Or, if your friends could be relied upon to consistently turn on and update their location. These are the two things that keep the live updating from being very live.

It would be nice to see some extra features to keep us entertained until live location updating becomes a more viable feature. The ability to snap and attach photos to a location, or a list of favorite locations for when the GPS doesn’t get it quite right.

In the meantime, Friend Mapper is a nice concept and is probably handy for very specific situations as long as your entire group owns iPhones. It would be fun during a scavenger hunt to spy on the other teams or it could add a new dimension to extreme hide-and-seek. If you have a group of friends willing to play along, you’ll probably get your dollar’s worth. But, don’t expect Friend Mapper to change the world. It’s just not there yet.

Watch the Friend Mapper video demo:

app_name: Friend Mapper
rating: 6/10

Sooshi – Social Sushi Still Too Raw

Derek Walter — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 17:00:27 +0000

A number of apps are trying to get in on the social networking experience made popular by the likes of Facebook and Twitter. Sooshi – Social Sushi tries to supplement your other online identities by creating a real-time network with users you can interact with in real-time through your iPhone.

Much like Buddy, Sooshi gives you some ways to meet people online, though just like your average Craig’s List relationship quality pickings are slim and unlikely to lead to any long-term friendships.

One good feature found in Sooshi that many other social media apps lack is the ability to sign up for a profile directly inside the app — many force you on to the web to create an account.

Once you do this you can connect your existing social networking profiles and other links such as your web site or blog to your Sooshi account. This makes your profile a bit more complete and transparent to those who may check you out in the Sooshi community.

Using Sooshi consists of mainly trolling through the list of users and trying to strike up a conversation. You can send direct messages, update your status, or check in on the profiles of other users. One annoying feature was that Sooshi forces the users to have GPS enabled. Sure it makes for a convenient way to tag your location and find other users, but the battery drain is quite significant. That is of course if you plan to make use of Sooshi. What you are likely to find is many users who pass along “whatups” to each other or, surprisingly, complain about the app itself.

Apps like Buddy and Sooshi are trying to supplement what Twitter, Facebooks and others have launched with social networking. But the experience just isn’t that satisfying. It lacks the connection that some of the more well-established networks have.

rating: 6/10
app_name: Sooshi – Social Sushi

Beejive IM 3.0 Shows Promise

Derek Walter — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 17:00:58 +0000

Beejive IM 3.0 With Push has the potential to expand the iPhone’s instant messaging capabilities. Despite a few bugs, it has some great features that IM power users should consider.

Beejive contains all major instant messaging applications: AIM, Google Talk, Facebook, Yahoo, ICQ, MSN, etc. If you IM, chances are your favorite service is here.

The interface is pretty easy to navigate and setting up one or multiple accounts you should find it rather easy to start chatting with your friends. The chat screen and buddies list are laid out well and make it pretty seamless to start conversations. Where Beejive promises to be a real game changer is in the ability to send an SMS through 3G, EDGE or Wi-Fi without incurring any messaging fees (you need a Google Talk, AIM, or Yahoo account to do this).

The most promising feature of Beejive is the ability to send SMS messages to anyone directly through Beejive — without incurring any SMS fees. Sending a message involves either choosing a contact from your address book, IM list, or typing in the phone number directly. You then must tap on one of your accounts that supports this feature. Your contact will receive a push notification and can then reply by sending a text.

Tapping on a user’s name at the top of the screen also gave the options to IM, text, or video message. Some of the menu options can get a bit jumbled, but after a bit of use you should get the hang of what to do.

There seemed to be some inconsistency in how often I was logged out after closing Beejive. Even when choosing to stay logged in for 24 hours, I would get a push notification that I had been logged out of AIM or Google Talk. (An update rolled out late July 5 reduced how often this occurred.)

Beejive does many things well — the instant messaging worked without any major issues and getting a push notification made IM far more useful on the iPhone. The number of account offerings made it very easy to get in touch with just about anyone I interact with online. A recent update indicated that Beejive may continue to get better with time.

app_name: Beejive IM 3.0 with Push
rating: 8/10

Send Voice Tweets with TweetMic

Derek Walter — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 16:00:53 +0000

TweetMic – If the same old method of typing your tweets through your favorite desktop or iPhone app is becoming mundane, then TweetMic may be the way to liven things up. TweetMic lets you record a voice message for all of your Twitter followers to hear.

TweetMic takes a “more is less” philosophy to designing the app. It is pretty easy to use — hit the giant record button and then speak slowly and clearly. Another button lets you preview your message while one more works as a pause or stop button. In order to get the most efficient upload time to the Twitter network, TweetMic works best over Wi-Fi. In fact a pop-up notice warns you if you are connected to 3G or EDGE. It is good advice to take.

How you use TwitMic can be left up to your imagination. Perhaps you have a message you feel that may come across better audibly. Or maybe that huge gripe over your favorite sports team’s poor performance is something you need to get off your chest. Go ahead and scream it into TwitMic and broadcast it to the world.

When TwitMic publishes your Tweet there is customizable introduction and link to the audio. The link came out to 25 characters, so keep that in mind when writing your introduction. If you write too much text TwitMic will cut off any excess with ellipses.

Playing audio worked good on both my desktop and iPhone version of Tweetdeck. I also tried it on Tweetie and Twitterfon and got good results — the iPhone played the audio in Quicktime with no problems. Through the TwitMic web site you can also manage your past audio tweets.

TweetMic took a brief hiatus due to the Twitpocalypse virus, but everything appears to be in working order now. If audio is a feature you have wanted or are looking to try out in your twittering, it is worth a download.

rating: 9/10

Will App Store’s Postman Ring Twice? Let’s Hope So

Jennifer Beam — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 22:00:48 +0000

As one of the first app assignments I ran across that required the new iPhone software version 3.0, Postman by Freeverse, Inc. is an inexpensive and simple postcard creation app.

Much simpler than the actual updating of my iPhone, Postman features a simplistic user interface that allows you to create quality image postcards using your iPhone’s camera, pictures from your camera roll, or templates supplied by the app. You can customize the font and color of the text you use, write a message on the back, and then share your postcard via email or upload it to Facebook, Twitter, or Tumblr.

To create a postcard with the Postman iPhone app, simply choose the photo option in the top tool bar and then snap a picture, insert one from your library or use a template image. You have options of changing the image to black and white or sepia as well as inverting the image or brightening it. You do not have control of resizing the image, however, such as enlarging or cropping. You can also use the location-based map, which pin points your general location on a map image.

You can place text on the front of the post card in the form of a simple greeting and while you have the ability to select your font and text color, there is no resizing or positioning of text available. At present, it’s annoying to have letters slapped across the middle of a picture, but the developer has promised to include resizing and repositioning of text as a future update feature. Other promised updates include professionally designed themes and auto-correction for spelling.

After completing the front and typing your message on the back, simply click the “share” icon at the bottom of Postman and select from the options list. Sharing by email and Facebook is simple and quick enough.

For its current price and value, Postman is a simple to use postcard creator that gets the job done, but having the promise of an updated version to come is very promising indeed. Now if they just give us some control over the picture images, we’ll be all set.

app_name: Postman
rating: 7/10

Need a Buddy? Give ‘Buddy’ a Try

Derek Walter — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 16:00:14 +0000

If broadcasting your daily activities through Twitter and Facebook are not enough social networking for you, then Buddy comes to the rescue. The purpose of Buddy is to connect people based on shared interests.

The free service is angling for a more interactive, real-time user experience. Setting up your account includes the standard list of preferences and status messages to choose from; including your age, marital/relationship status, interests, and many others.

The most important choice in Buddy is what kind of buddy you are looking for. If you are an avid jogger, choose jogging buddy. Perhaps you are looking for someone to play video games with; pick gaming buddy. For the travel minded choose travel buddy (though personally I would recommend getting to know someone a bit before going on a trip). Once your profile is set then by tapping Buddy List you will see a list of buddies that you can interact with based on your shared love of golf or dating.

Location plays a prominent role in Buddy. By using the iPhone’s GPS capabilities you can have Buddy broadcast your location. If you are feeling a bit squeamish about being this available to strangers, you can opt for “Celebrity Mode,” which randomizes your location within a square mile of where you really are. This way you can be found in local search results. Or if you you really want to stay off the grid, opt for “Prime Minister mode.” This keeps you from being found on the Buddy Map, which is a real-time location of Buddy users logged on to the service.

Buddy is a service worth toying around with if you eat up the social networking environment. But in order for Buddy to succeed it would probably benefit from some deeper integration with some of the existing social networking tools. But who knows — maybe there are plenty of people who need a buddy.

app_name: Buddy
rating: 7/10

Mover: Share Photos Over Wi-Fi for Free

Shawn Leonard — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 20:30:44 +0000

Mover – Someone infinitely more wise and insightful than myself once said that “the best things in life are free.” That maxim didn’t resonate with me until I became an adult as I realized I found the most pleasure in simple joys and pleasures.

Infinite Labs has tapped into that territory with the release of Mover, their social sharing application that provides a medium to openly share content and information.

Using a Wi-Fi connection, Mover allows users to easily send and receive pictures and contact information. Upon starting the application, you have a blank dashboard that you can add content from your phone that you want to share. Once the photos or contact info (complete with caller ID photos) is on the canvas, you merely swipe it to another user. Within seconds, transference is complete and the content is automagically added to the contact list or photo gallery. It’s very intuitive and easy to use for people all across the range of iPhone users.

With an original and disruptive application like this, it’s par for the course to expand on the ways in which the concept could be pushed to become more universal. Barring any technology constraints, it’d be great to be able to leverage Mover using Bluetooth or 3G in environments where Wi-Fi isn’t available. The ability to send calendar events and alerts in Mover makes sense as well, but it’s limited to photos and contact information for now. Lastly, I missed a method to select multiple photos at one time to add them to my Mover dashboard.

Even with my wishlist, I’m throughly impressed and appreciative of what Mover is doing. Infinite Labs has delivered an application that performs as advertised, and it’s completely free. Should you happen to have a group of friends with iPhones, Mover is an essential application that’ll undoubtedly delight you in variety of social settings.

rating: 8/10
app_name: Mover

FriendFreak is not a Good Friend

Amelia Sauter — Wed, 20 May 2009 16:00:41 +0000

When I first picked up the iPhone to play FriendFreak, I wondered if I would be stumped. How well do I know my friends? One thing is certain, I know them better than FriendFreak does.

To play FriendFreak from TopDownApps, you are first prompted to sign into your Facebook account. You choose a category such as books, music or interests and match the description with your friends’ photos. For example, in the television category, which one of your friends likes to watch Dexter? Drag and drop a friend’s picture to make your guess.

Warning: FriendFreak has a serious functional issue. Though I have a whopping 64 friends on Facebook, only the same 16 friends showed up on the quizzes. The other 48 friends were nowhere to be found. In some of the categories, FriendFreak told me I did not have enough friends who had filled out that particular field on Facebook. I signed into Facebook online, and verified that FriendFreak was incorrect. Even the “Name” category, which obviously all of my friends have, resulted in the same 16 friends over and over again. This problem is frustrating and limits FriendFreak’s functionality.

Even if all of my friends’ information was accessed by FriendFreak, I would still question the efficacy of this game. While Facebook has a voyeuristic feel, it is still interactive in nature. In contrast, FriendFreak is a solitary game. How well do I know my friends? Not very well if all I do is stay at home by myself and take quizzes on their lives.

Facebook gives you plenty of opportunities to get to know your friends better. FriendFreak, even if it worked correctly, will add no perks to either your online or offline social life.

app_name: FriendFreak
rating: 2/10

TwitterFon Pro a Worthy Upgrade

Derek Walter — Tue, 19 May 2009 21:30:38 +0000

With TwitterFon Pro, developer Kazuho Okui takes an already excellent Twitter client and makes it even better. This release is a stepped up version of the original TwitterFon, which is still free but now sports ads. Those willing to pay for an ad-free TwitterFon Pro will find the same clean interface with additional features that put this in the top tier of Twitter iPhone apps. If you are a more casual Twitter user, you may be happy sticking with the original TwitterFon.

Along with being ad-free, TwitterFon Pro’s upgrades will appeal to those who take their Twitter life seriously. For example, TwitterFon Pro can manage up to four accounts.

Probably one of the biggest strengths it has over competitor Tweetie is rich text. Links jump off the screen and are easy to tap for quick access to links. For those who share links frequently, integration with bit.ly is a welcome addition that enables tracking of links through the URL shortening service. Instapaper integration is also available, which allows users to save web sites for later reading.

Twitterfon Pro runs neck and neck with Tweetie when it comes to its feature set. In fact TwitterFon Pro does more; yet some of the features are a bit counter intuitive or hard to dig out. For example, hanging up one of the four themes requires a rather convoluted series of steps (described here on the Twitterfon web site). To his credit, developer Kazuho Okui has pledged to clean it up in a future release. And the developer’s Twitter feed is frequently updated with workarounds, bug fixes, and update information.

If you are a serious Twitterer then there is much to like with TwitterFon Pro. If the occasional tweeting is enough, then you probably will do fine without the upgrade. But it doesn’t mean you won’t get jealous when you see the shiny new edition of TwitterfonPro in the App Store.

rating: 9/10
app_name: TwitterFon Pro