CNET - After a two-and-a-half-week wait, the Google+ native application has finally arrived on Apple's iOS platform.
The new app, which is a free download, is currently aimed at iPhone users. It joins Google+'s Android application, giving users outside of the browser a way to keep up with happenings on the increasingly popular social network, which is still invitation-only and is operating in what the company is calling a "field trial."
At the launch of Google+, iPhone users had been left with a mobile browser-optimized version. A note by Google employee Erica Joy earlier this month pointed out that the iOS version had been submitted to Apple for approval.
The native version of Google+ follows similar user interface cues from Facebook's app, featuring a home screen of sorts with different features in finger-friendly locations. This is slightly different from the list of buttons found in the company's mobile Web version. Included is the news stream, huddle group text chat, and the Circles contact manager.
One of the key benefits in using the native app is that it serves up push notifications for any updates. So if someone leaves a comment on one of your posts, or you get a message from a group huddle chat, these can be seen without actually having to fire up the app. One other benefit is that the photo viewer includes an uploader, letting users upload shots from their camera or camera roll--something you can't do through Safari. More
The new app, which is a free download, is currently aimed at iPhone users. It joins Google+'s Android application, giving users outside of the browser a way to keep up with happenings on the increasingly popular social network, which is still invitation-only and is operating in what the company is calling a "field trial."
At the launch of Google+, iPhone users had been left with a mobile browser-optimized version. A note by Google employee Erica Joy earlier this month pointed out that the iOS version had been submitted to Apple for approval.
The native version of Google+ follows similar user interface cues from Facebook's app, featuring a home screen of sorts with different features in finger-friendly locations. This is slightly different from the list of buttons found in the company's mobile Web version. Included is the news stream, huddle group text chat, and the Circles contact manager.
Google's new Google+ app for iOS.
(Credit: Google/CNET)