Google + Android app review

Google + Android app is one of the most simplistic mobile app I have come across. Much of its simplicity comes from the Social Network itself. There are only 5 icons once you launch the app – Stream, Huddle, Photos, Profile and Circles. Despite being a mobile app, there is still a lot of whitespace left, a rarity in this mad app world. A notable miss on the app is Sparks – I fail to understand the reason why.

There is a neat little notifications bar at the bottom of the app, which when touched and pulled up provides all the latest activity in your circles and stream. Hangout is a feature which isn’t available in Google+ app. From the look of the home screen, there are five icons which are not aligned symmetrically, given an impression that another icon is coming. That definitely would be Hangout. Hangout needs a front-facing camera for a video chat and not all phones are equipped with it. That could be one of the reasons. Yet another reason would be the capability of the OS version itself. Hangout might be coming out in future updates of Google+.

Stream is a A unified view of all the activity in your circles. Similar to the Facebook wall but much better. I take that back. It’s much like the Facebook wall. No obvious differences.

Huddle is is a asynchronous group chat much like Google Wave. With Huddle, Group Chat would never be the same. When Google + app is installed, two icons appear on your phone. There is a special icon for Huddle. Also Huddle can be accessed from Google + itself.

Photos and Instant upload : By far the killer feature of Google+. Instant upload works seamlessly and is very well integrated. Integration isn’t the right word because it comes out of the box. Imagine the hoops one has to go through to take a picture and share it on Facebook or Twitter. None of those hassles existing in Google+ world. Instant Uploads really bring, sharing, mobile and pictures together.

Circles : Imagine circles as your own private group of individuals. You bring someone to a circle and you can share stuff with only that circle. When you share, an option is always provided to choose a circle or making it public.

Google + is a great social network and its mobile app makes it even better.

iPhone users don’t have a native app and have to stick with a web app by accessing it from your phone. Download Android app here.