Are you one of the few lucky people to get an invite to Google’s new social project Google+? Well if you are an Android phone user, you most definitely better check out it’s Android app, now live in the Android Market. I downloaded this today and I can definitely see myself using this on the regular once they open it up to everyone, shoot I still see myself using it everyday even with the limited amount of people on it now.
If I wanted to build a social network focused on the mobile space, the Google+ would be the one I would want it to look like. I like to think of the app as a mix of Instagram, Beluga, Facebook, and Foursquare. From the homescreen you can access the Stream, Huddle, Photos, your profile, and Circles.
From the Stream area you can see the statuses (and comments on those statuses) of the people in your Circles, see incoming messages, and messages from people nearby. You can also share an existing photo on your phone or take one and instantly share it. If you feel like checking in, you can do so as well. Checking in is cool, but I find that Google doesn’t have as many venues as Foursquare (which I think it is odd, I mean it is Google), so if it was me, I’d stick with Foursquare.
In the Huddle area, you can get your group messaging on like Beluga another group messaging service. You can add people from your Circle or enter in a email address or mobile number. Very cool stuff! Then you have the Circles area where you can see the timelines of the different Circles you created or using one of the one existing. Using this you can filter the content you view.
Last you have the Photo area and it seems to be broken down by From your circles, photos of you, your albums, and from your phone. This is all very cool and I like checking out all the images.
Overall the the app works very well. Putting statuses up, commenting all loads up very smooth and very easy to use. It just feel like a natural part of the Google experience on a Android device and I can’t wait until more people are using the service. It has great potential and I for one will be using it often!
