As the month of April comes to an end, the App Store continues to grow steadily within a range of 100-250 new location based applications weekly. Some of the coolest apps came from the Social Networking Category this week.
Tubulous Global Social Podcasting is a social network created exclusively for iPhone and iTouch users to import all previous podcasts and sync them with Tubulous to reach a whole new audience. The app features WPS-based channel viewing, built-in Twitter support, on-the-go audio entries, comments, private messaging, friend lists and favorite channels.
Knektr is a social networking application that combines geo-location with Facebook. This application shows the location of all the user’s Facebook friends and shows the latest profile pictures and status. It also updates location in real time so you can be found and your friends can easily be found too. Facebook is one of the most downloaded applications in the app store, adding location to the mix of social networking without having to join another social networking site makes the potential for this application to blow up, huge.
Cocktail Compass comes to us from the Lifestyle category. This application finds the happiest happy hours in the area along with a countdown to how long you have until happy hour is over. The app also features reviews, listings on extras such as if the bar has wifi or patio seating, and a Cabs icon to call a cab home at the end of the night. The application is only available in Portland and Seattle, but would be a welcome addition in other cities as well.
Finally, iPlanet! was released this week and it will be interesting to see if it perhaps will echo the popularity of Sonic Lighter from a few months prior as both are a social experiment using location based services. The difference with iPlanet! is it is an application that not only lights up your location on a map for all other iPlanet! users to see, but it also serves as an environmental statement by those working to make the planet greener. In addition, other developers within the app community can benefit by using the application to make more informed decisions about the geographical distribution of iPhone and iTouch users for future efforts in local markets.
By Courtney Teeling