I've spent the past five days testing the iPhone 3G and many of the wonderful applications that have been made available at the App store. Much of this time I focused on the "Social Networking" apps, or the ones that had social networking features. However, I came across a huge problem: without any friends, these applications are rather useless. This is a direct results of the Twitter vs. Plurk vs. Pownce issue: You have to go where your friends are.
I tried twittering my my problem in the hope of finding a solution, and though my question spread to several friends and groups, it seems people are still waiting to see where everyone else goes. In the hopes of expediting this process I've put together a list comparing some of the popular apps. In alphabetical order, I've gone through each application three separate times and after browsing around each these are my summaries, options and conclusions:
Pros: Simple, clean and fast.
Cons: Lacks too many features at this point, including location and intuitive messaging.
Pros: Simple and clean. Facebook integration will be key to app's success.
Cons: I'm not too sure how to find other friends through Facebook. Also, there are no photos or profiles, just nicknames.
The integrated chat, phone number, and e-mail recognition has already come in handy several times. The fact that this app doesn't run in the background is the its biggest downfall since there are no active chat or mail features when you aren't "logged in" to the app. Something tells me this "fix" is only a matter of time.
Pros: All of your friends are already there. Clean and fast. Very functional beyond just Facebook features including e-mail and phone number recognition. Mail and chat options. Poking!
Cons: No location awareness and doesn't run in the background. No Scrabulous.
Pros: Clean. Chat. Profiles based on personality.
Cons: Only proximity based. No way to add friends.
Pros: Pinpoint location for nearest Food, Bars and Shops. Messaging and Groups.
Cons: Find Me isn't pinpoint, just city (in status). Profiles are limited to Picture, Activity, and When. Not the fastest. No way to sort Food, Bars, and Shops (by category or neighborhood). No friend search. No photo or mapping functionality. Member search isn't by proximity.
Pros: Simple and Clean. Facebook and Twitter integration. Contact database Search. Map with Yelp integration. Status udpates can include a picture (from camera or photo library). Comment on other people's status updates. The ability to "Call" or "Text" or Ping" a contact.
Cons: Difficult to add friends who are not in your Contact List. Also, I could not figure out how to add Facebook friends. Profiles were too simplistic with just Name and Picture.
Pros: All your friends are there and searchable (top, all, online, new, upcoming birthdays), direct messaging and comments, as well as Inbox.
Cons: Full profiles are broken down into sections and a bit hard to navigate. There is a lack of information to get contact information outside of MySpace.
Pros: Add photos and notes to a saved and shared location. Ability to separate locations of "saved items".
Cons: Absolutely no functionality besides seeing your "saved items" (media, links, notes, images, etc) and the same from your friends. No profile setup or really anything via mobile device.
Pros: Message "The Public," friends, or a specific friend (aka direct message). Photo integration via camera and photo library.
Cons: No ability to really search and add new friends. No Profiles. No profile integration whatsoever besides profile picture. No real functionality besides viewing other people's "notes" and creating your own. Without Sarafi integration having links via a "note" on iPhone is rather "weak."
Pros: Bookmarklet (although 3 steps to set it up, totally worth it) and Twitpic integration with Camera Photo.
Cons: No contact Search, No ability to direct follow (takes you to Safari). Location doesn't work for me. No ability to upload picture from photo library.
The funnest/most scary part of the app is the "Alert" button, which pulls your location/map (via a link) with the message "This is an emergency! Please Help!..." You can even take a photo with that message. Beyond all of this, the profiles are full and provide easy access to the 4 key features: message, direct message, latest updates and friends (with the ability to follow anybody you come across or bookmark them for quick actions). Beyond all of that, the best feature is in a "new tweet" window, you can easily pull up your @friends list!
Pros: Full search functionality with full friend functionality. Camera/photo and location integrations. Bookmarks. Emergency Button.
Cons: A Bit slow and lags/freezes at times. No background running capability. Map had my incorrect location by just a bit, so no guarantee.
Pros: Full list of nearby restaurants, bars, shops, areas for free wi-fi, and "open now" (which is great for late night functionality).
Cons: Can't easily find friends (by e-mail invitations only). Map only displays what's around your vicinity with no ability to zoom in and out of map. Map loads improperly when moving to other areas.
Pros: Proximity based networks, interactive wall with photos, and simple profiles.
Cons: Doesn't run in the background, so proximity is only a limited feature, thus rendering the application useless unless running.
Conclusion
So, those are my reviews and I'm looking forward to hearing your opinions and what choices you've come to. Personally, I plan to stick with Facebook and Twitterlator for now and hope that if one of the above takes off, it's Loopt, as I can see myself using the app.
If you're interested in more information, I put together a quick chart of all the apps and their key points for further discussion.