We had a chance to sit down with Nokia and check out its Nokia Messaging for social networks application and it seems like Nokia gets how people want to use these services on the go.
The app is aimed at making it easier to connect with Facebook and Twitter on the go (Nokia plans to integrate more services shortly). You can use the app to update your statuses, post comments, check your inbox or look at events. It lets you combine your Facebook calendar with your phone’s calendar and there’s a widget for the homescreen that lets you know what’s happening on your favorite social network. The widget is not quite as pretty as the Happenings widget from MotoBlur, but it’s just as useful. Nokia’s client also lets you tweet or update your status using your location, which is missing from most social networking apps, although that may change soon. It also integrates with your camera and video camera to upload pictures and this would have been amazing three years ago, but it’s table stakes for any social networking app nowadays.
Of course, we’re seeing operating systems like webOS integrate social networks into the overall operating system and Nokia said its client differentiates by providing a better user experience. The app had a clean, consistent interface but it didn’t seem fully optimized for touch because it will also be coming to non-touch and S40 devices. I would have also liked the option of having multiple sizes for the homscreen widget, kind of like what Android does. Still, it’s a pretty good social networking client and it should only get better once it’s preloaded on devices. Check out the video below for more details, and download the beta from Nokia Labs.