Vic Gundotra announced on stage at Google I/O the release of the Google+ app for Android tablets and the iPad.
The design principles of the standard Google+ app for Android smartphones and iPhone are kept with the tablet version. It’s very nicely designed and easy to navigate. Hangouts work as expected and they will look even better when using those large tablet displays. Gundotra even made somewhat of a peace offering with Apple by suggesting that Google+ even looks stunning on the iPad’s retina display.
Google+ for tablets also comes with a new Party Mode feature that sort of reminded me of Color when I first saw the demo. It allows any user to take a single photo that will act as the first contribution in a large pool of photos from other people at a particular event. As more people add photos, they all stream to every participant’s device in real-time. Though Google didnt mention it, it seems like Google tooks its PhotoVine and Pool Party projects and incorporated them into Google +.
Party Mode is actually part of a bigger feature being added in Google+ called Events — yes it’s exactly as it sounds. It takes on Facebook Events and Evite to allow individual users or circles to plan events together within the social network. It integrates seamlessly with everyone’s Google Calendar and includes cover art for the event from Google+ too. Party Mode is then optionally activated from the event.
Google+ for Android tablets is available immediately in Google Play and the iPad version is due out soon.