" With everything going mobile -- from recharges to balance updates, social networking is also gradually shifting to the mobile platform. We bring to you some of the most well-known sites and their mobile versions"
The next time you think of updating your status on Facebook or feel like Tweeting, don’t run to your PC or switch on your laptop. With most popular websites now going mobile, users can stay connected with friends and family, update pictures and share experiences on the go.
Though most of you would be aware about the working of Social Networking Sites (SNS), here’s a brief lowdown about them for those new to the concept. A social network is a place (in this case virtual) where like-minded people interact and share their thoughts and pictures and stay connected. Most of these sites offer a lot of applications, which can be accessed after creating a profile.
This is the era of convergence where the lines between computers and mobile devices are blurring. It is also the era of smartphones, mobile Internet, super fast mobile processors, touchscreens and motion sensors. Thus, more people are now using their handsets for computing purposes, including surfing the Internet. Social networking has been extremely popular on the Web, so a shift towards mobiles is a natural transition for it.
Most SNSes can be easily accessed on mobile phones through a browser or as an application meant for the device. Let us first discuss such sites that run on Symbian devices as integrated applications.
Interface
The interface of these mobile SNSes is designed in a way that it fits a small screen and loads smoothly. Almost all SNSes have mobile versions. Users can simply update their status, pictures, videos, etc. while on the move. They also have text-based applications and options to load images. However, these affect the loading speed of the apps (SNSes). Let us examine the interface of some of the leading mobile SNSes on Symbian mobile platform.
Facebook
Facebook is one of the most popular social networking applications that is being integrated into almost all mobile phones these days.
Facebook mobile is a scaled down version of the PC website and includes only the most used features. It also has an option where users can simply click photos with the mobile camera and upload it to their Facebook account. The picture gets instantly uploaded to the photos segment. This scaled down version has been optimised with less pictures, graphics and other visuals. This helps in retaining the speed of the application on a mobile device owing to its smaller size.
On a Symbian device Facebook can be installed easily by downloading its mobile version. Depending upon the device being used, the app shows some images and most links may or may not work.
The speed of the apps will also depend on the GPRS speed of the network. Having Wi-Fi connectivity really helps.
MySpace
The main screen of mobile MySpace has been simplified and is very useful. It features the user’s status message, friend request screen, access to profile, friends’ status and moods, comments and updates from friends.
There are four menus on the top of the screen -- home, message, photos and friends’ list. Apart from the basic menu, the app also comes with a quick access menu at the bottom.
The photo upload feature is similar to Facebook. Users get a unique Email ID to which they can send the photos and get them uploaded to an album within a short time.
Friendster
Friendster on mobile is one of the most interesting apps in terms of photo uploading. It is very simple -- just select and click to upload the picture. Users can also add comments and tag lines to pictures.
The menu of this app is at the bottom of the screen, with the home button on top followed by profile, friends, comments, messages, photos and bulletin board.
The profile has an option to edit and change the skin of the menu list, while the friends option has the add button next to it. The rest of the menus open a new page altogether to access related features.
Through Friendster users can also send and receive SMSes. The bulletin board allows users to keep news and updates for their friends. The interface of the application is simple and works smoothly on a mobile device.
Orkut
Orkut is one of the first social networking sites to have caught the fancy of Indian youth.While it has been popular on the Web, it is equally popular on mobiles as well.
The interface of mobile Orkut is not exactly what you might see on a PC. It is actually an optimised version of the original. On mobile Orkut users can check their scraps, photos and friends’ statuses.
Mobile Orkut focusses more on fuctionality than visual appeal. So, while it looks dull, it lets users stay connected all the time. It has five main tabs -- home, my scrapbook, my contacts, my photo and my profile.
Uploading of photos is also a good feature on mobile Orkut. However, this process can be pretty tiring if you don’t have a good GPRS speed. Users can learn some shortcuts for using mobile Orkut:
0 Home
1 Check scraps
2 Set you status
3 Upload photos
4 Share album
9 Write/Reply to scrap
YouTube
Networking through videos is also an integral part of social networking. And one such site that lets you communicate visually is YouTube. This networking site allows users to upload videos and share them with friends and family. The application lets them search videos, view lists of the top rated, most viewed and most recent videos. Choosing any of these loads a list of videos with an image 'carousel' at the top of the screen. Users can quickly browse through the available videos, viewing them as thumbnail. A short description and miscellaneous information about the video is also displayed. The menu option at the bottom has a change connection setting, home, related videos and an option to flag them. Once a video is selected the list can be scrolled horizontally to see the length of the video and a short description. Videos cannot be uploaded through a downloaded mobile YouTube. However, this can be done while accessing the app through a browser.
Flickr
Flickr is another visual social network where users can share videos and photos. This app has four main menus on the top -- activity, you, contacts and more. These options are just a single command, which show the users' status, pictures and profile. It also shows the users' contacts. Below these four menus are another four, which give the latest / recent activities, the day's interestingness and photos taken nearby.
Users cannot upload photos on the app if it is being accessed on a mobile version. On the other hand, pictures can be uploaded if the app is accessed fro m another browser.
Conclusion
Overall, these are some good, interactive applications, which will keep you updated and entertained any time.
All of them have their own convenience. However, you need to choose the one that suits your device the most and obviously, the one, which has the biggest friends' list. You can also have multiple apps on your phone. But as of today -- unlike Instant Messengers -- no such app has been developed that integrates all such sites into one.
So, with the review for Symbian devices done, we will bring an SNS burntest for another platform in the next issue. Watch this space!
The next time you think of updating your status on Facebook or feel like Tweeting, don’t run to your PC or switch on your laptop. With most popular websites now going mobile, users can stay connected with friends and family, update pictures and share experiences on the go.
Though most of you would be aware about the working of Social Networking Sites (SNS), here’s a brief lowdown about them for those new to the concept. A social network is a place (in this case virtual) where like-minded people interact and share their thoughts and pictures and stay connected. Most of these sites offer a lot of applications, which can be accessed after creating a profile.
This is the era of convergence where the lines between computers and mobile devices are blurring. It is also the era of smartphones, mobile Internet, super fast mobile processors, touchscreens and motion sensors. Thus, more people are now using their handsets for computing purposes, including surfing the Internet. Social networking has been extremely popular on the Web, so a shift towards mobiles is a natural transition for it.
Most SNSes can be easily accessed on mobile phones through a browser or as an application meant for the device. Let us first discuss such sites that run on Symbian devices as integrated applications.
Interface
The interface of these mobile SNSes is designed in a way that it fits a small screen and loads smoothly. Almost all SNSes have mobile versions. Users can simply update their status, pictures, videos, etc. while on the move. They also have text-based applications and options to load images. However, these affect the loading speed of the apps (SNSes). Let us examine the interface of some of the leading mobile SNSes on Symbian mobile platform.
Facebook is one of the most popular social networking applications that is being integrated into almost all mobile phones these days.
Facebook mobile is a scaled down version of the PC website and includes only the most used features. It also has an option where users can simply click photos with the mobile camera and upload it to their Facebook account. The picture gets instantly uploaded to the photos segment. This scaled down version has been optimised with less pictures, graphics and other visuals. This helps in retaining the speed of the application on a mobile device owing to its smaller size.
On a Symbian device Facebook can be installed easily by downloading its mobile version. Depending upon the device being used, the app shows some images and most links may or may not work.
The speed of the apps will also depend on the GPRS speed of the network. Having Wi-Fi connectivity really helps.
MySpace
The main screen of mobile MySpace has been simplified and is very useful. It features the user’s status message, friend request screen, access to profile, friends’ status and moods, comments and updates from friends.
There are four menus on the top of the screen -- home, message, photos and friends’ list. Apart from the basic menu, the app also comes with a quick access menu at the bottom.
The photo upload feature is similar to Facebook. Users get a unique Email ID to which they can send the photos and get them uploaded to an album within a short time.
Friendster
Friendster on mobile is one of the most interesting apps in terms of photo uploading. It is very simple -- just select and click to upload the picture. Users can also add comments and tag lines to pictures.
The menu of this app is at the bottom of the screen, with the home button on top followed by profile, friends, comments, messages, photos and bulletin board.
The profile has an option to edit and change the skin of the menu list, while the friends option has the add button next to it. The rest of the menus open a new page altogether to access related features.
Through Friendster users can also send and receive SMSes. The bulletin board allows users to keep news and updates for their friends. The interface of the application is simple and works smoothly on a mobile device.
Orkut
Orkut is one of the first social networking sites to have caught the fancy of Indian youth.While it has been popular on the Web, it is equally popular on mobiles as well.
The interface of mobile Orkut is not exactly what you might see on a PC. It is actually an optimised version of the original. On mobile Orkut users can check their scraps, photos and friends’ statuses.
Mobile Orkut focusses more on fuctionality than visual appeal. So, while it looks dull, it lets users stay connected all the time. It has five main tabs -- home, my scrapbook, my contacts, my photo and my profile.
Uploading of photos is also a good feature on mobile Orkut. However, this process can be pretty tiring if you don’t have a good GPRS speed. Users can learn some shortcuts for using mobile Orkut:
0 Home
1 Check scraps
2 Set you status
3 Upload photos
4 Share album
9 Write/Reply to scrap
YouTube
Networking through videos is also an integral part of social networking. And one such site that lets you communicate visually is YouTube. This networking site allows users to upload videos and share them with friends and family. The application lets them search videos, view lists of the top rated, most viewed and most recent videos. Choosing any of these loads a list of videos with an image 'carousel' at the top of the screen. Users can quickly browse through the available videos, viewing them as thumbnail. A short description and miscellaneous information about the video is also displayed. The menu option at the bottom has a change connection setting, home, related videos and an option to flag them. Once a video is selected the list can be scrolled horizontally to see the length of the video and a short description. Videos cannot be uploaded through a downloaded mobile YouTube. However, this can be done while accessing the app through a browser.
Flickr
Flickr is another visual social network where users can share videos and photos. This app has four main menus on the top -- activity, you, contacts and more. These options are just a single command, which show the users' status, pictures and profile. It also shows the users' contacts. Below these four menus are another four, which give the latest / recent activities, the day's interestingness and photos taken nearby.
Users cannot upload photos on the app if it is being accessed on a mobile version. On the other hand, pictures can be uploaded if the app is accessed fro m another browser.
Conclusion
Overall, these are some good, interactive applications, which will keep you updated and entertained any time.
All of them have their own convenience. However, you need to choose the one that suits your device the most and obviously, the one, which has the biggest friends' list. You can also have multiple apps on your phone. But as of today -- unlike Instant Messengers -- no such app has been developed that integrates all such sites into one.
So, with the review for Symbian devices done, we will bring an SNS burntest for another platform in the next issue. Watch this space!
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment