All The Location Apps You Have To Use At The SXSW Royal Rumble
It’s turning into a royal rumble at SXSW — the sheer number of location-based networking apps hoping to emerge from the conference as this year’s breakout hit is nearly overwhelming. What’s worse, they’re often so similar in nature, so it’s hard to discern the advantages of one over another. They can’t all be winners.
Is the app for business networking or making new friends? Does it use check-in data from other networks like Facebook and Foursquare, or does it just connect you with your friends? How does the app know who’s nearby? Does it kill your battery?
Below, we’ve rounded up all the hottest apps in the newly-hot, location-based networking space, so you can fill up your phone for SXSW…and beyond.
To be clear, the idea for location-based social networking is hardly a new one. Last fall, we dove into this still-emerging trend, highlighting new apps like Sonar and Banjo, plus last year’s SXSW darling, the group chatting app Yobongo, as well as the micro-networking app LoKast, the business-focused Mingle, and the now-shuttered Holler.
While some of those same apps are still around, hoping to win the love of SXSW attendees, they’re now joined by a legion of others that have the same goal.
Desperate for a cheat sheet to the forthcoming app battle? So were we. While the purpose of this post is to feature mobile apps, there are other services available to help SXSW attendees connect. You may want to also check out Meeteor, for example, which just launched an online networking site for SXSW attendees. Or you can track your meetings using Hashable. And of course, there’s always Twitter and Foursquare.
But now, here are the new app contenders:
1. Highlight
Pros: Good for Facebook users, making social connections; the team acknowledges that women have safety/privacy concerns with these apps and are working to address that; great design.
Cons: May drain your battery until improvements are made; those “friends of friends” notifications will blow up your phone at SXSW; relying on Facebook data may limit usefulness for some
Works On: iPhone
2. Glancee
Pros: Good for Facebook users, making social connections; goes easy on the push notifications which helps conserve battery life; works on iPhone & Android
Cons: Goes easy on the notifications – you might miss someone!; relying on Facebook data may limit usefulness for some
Works On: iPhone, Android, Facebook
3. Banjo
Pros: Good for finding nearby friends, or just seeing what people around you are saying and doing; finds a lot more people because of its use of multiple social networks; works cross-platform
Cons: People nearby are ranked by distance, not common interests or shared connections; notifications have been hit-or-miss – sometimes arrived too late to meet up with person in question; relies on check-in/geotagged data, as opposed to ambient connections
Works On: iPhone, Android, Web
4. INTRO
Pros: Great for business networking/making new LinkedIn connections; privacy angle – you have to accept a connection request before people can message you; shows you social connections too; doesn’t drain battery as much;
Cons: Only on iPhone at launch; have to pay for some features in the future;
Works On: iPhone (Android in a month)
5. Sonar
Pros: Heavy emphasis on the ranking technology helps you more easily find the people you want to know; profiles include lots of user data and map locations; just arrived on Android in beta
Cons: Relies on check-in/geotagged data, as opposed to ambient connections; iPhone updates are still shipping throughout SXSW
Works On: iPhone and Android (beta only)
6. EchoEcho
The app uses GPS outside then switches to Wi-Fi when you head indoors, using special tech from the startup WifiSlam to map out the interior of the buildings
Pros: Indoor location, obviously; also the privacy angle – the app lets you adjust your visibility on a friend-by-friend basis; doesn’t drain battery; cross-platform support
Cons: Only works with other EchoEcho users;
Works On: iPhone, Android, Nokia (Symbian), BlackBerry, Windows Phone
7. Kismet
Pros: Uses active check-ins and ambient location to maximize list of connections; ranks users by how you’re connected; lets you check in to Facebook, Foursquare
Cons: iPhone only at launch
Works On: iPhone
8. Glassmap
Pros: A great (free) friend and family locator service for Facebook users; preserves battery life; cross-platform
Cons: Only uses Facebook to find people you are friends with, doesn’t help you find people you don’t know
Works On: iPhone and Android
9. ntro
Pros: Great for Facebook users, making social connections; cross-platform
Cons: Limited support for cities. Ntro works in S.F., L.A. and plans to roll out to N.Y., Chicago, D.C. and Boston. Just added support for Austin.
Works On: iPhone and Android
10. Mingle
Pros: Multiple ways to log in; great for business networking; cross-platform
Cons: Doesn’t track check-ins on other services like Twitter and Foursquare; doesn’t show you how you’re connected with others
Works On: iPhone and Android
11. CardFlick
Pros: Great for business networking (and for when you run out of biz cards!); easy to use; doesn’t drain battery
Cons: Not really for finding nearby people to network with, only facilitates post-networking biz card sharing; Android app is in private beta
Works On: iPhone, Android (invite-only beta) and Web
AND MORE!
There are some other apps that are worth mentioning, but may not be fighting for homescreen space at SXSW, depending on their launch time frames.
12. Discover Circle
13. Cult
Aiming to launch this week, Cult will allow users to post photos and text all around SXSW and beyond. Cult provides locations with their own feed – a stream of text and photos for that venue. The database is already filled with 10 million places and 100 “cults” in cities around the world. For example, a party at SXSW may have a “cult” but so would a store like Starbucks. When you post to the Starbucks cult in one location, you are then connected to a stream of other Starbucks’ locations worldwide. As you join Cults, these are saved on your profile for later viewing.
Additional reading:
If you’re at all interested in this space, you have to read what Robert Scoble has blogged recently. He has been tracking this space with in-depth posts on why he thinks Highlight and Glancee will be the two hottest apps at SXSW, and especially why Highlight may be worth the investment.
[Top image originally via MickFoley.com.]