Tuesday, January 06, 2009

iPhone Friend Finder Apps: Loopt vs. Over Here

We've all become accustomed to answering the same old question every time we answer our cell phone-
 

Where are you?

 

Thanks to new applications such as Loopt and Over Here, your friends don't need to ask anymore. Once you join either network, you can see if your buds are  just around the corner, or in a different continent.

Loopt and Over Here both monitor your friend's movements, but Loopt provides detailed data, including status updates for each of your friends.

Some users may consider the tracking technology as an invasion of privacy. The very concept sounds like a self-imposed probation tracker or something you would read about in a George Orwell novel, but these apps are designed for practical daily use, and they require friend approval.

Anyway, I downloaded both Apps, and Loopt has a serious advantages in three key areas:networking, accuracy and structure. Over Here, by Ed Lea , has several bugs and is only available on iPhone, while Loopt is available on AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, Metro PCS, T-Mobile and Boost.

Loopt can sync your location and status with Twitter and Facebook. Over Here notifies your friends via email, which is convenient, but it's not as handy as the multiple outlets offered by Loopt.

Loopt wins in the accuracy category as well. On my first attempt to view my current location,  Over Here showed that I was in the middle of the Indian River. I live on an island, so I can understand the confusion, but I expected better accuracy. (If only I was lucky enough to blog from a personal yacht.)

My only gripe with Loopt was its tendency to crash when I attempted to enter my password. In this head-to-head comparison, Loopt wins by a significant margin. Apparently, I'm not the only iPhone user who thinks that Over Here needs a  lot of work, just read these reviews at getsatisfaction.com,

Posted By Matt O'Hern at 09:08 AM
Permanent Link: iPhone Friend Finder Apps: Loopt vs. Over Here | Comments (1)

(1) Comments on iPhone Friend Finder Apps: Loopt vs. Over Here

Moron:

Your sucky article ignores a key piece of information re: Loopt. It may not actually OWN its IP.

It's being sued by Earthcomber--which HAS a patent on said proximity location technology.

Here's an idea skippy: research your story beyond the companies in question. That's what real reporters do.

Give it a try, Eisenhower. God knows you may learn something.

That said, I won't hold my breath.

Comments by Idiot O'Hern : Please do your homework : Sunday, January 25, 2009 at 12:25 PM

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