This new application called “Friend Book,†available tomorrow, lets you exchange business cards and address cards from one iPhone to another. To “pair†the two devices, you simply hold them together and shake them as if you were shaking someones hand. (Check out the video to see).
This is yet another cool usability innovation built on top of the iPhone / iPod Touch. Friend Book was developed by an outfit called Tapulous, a software development company exclusively focussed on building applications for the iPhone and iPod Touch (and the makers of Twinkle - a native iPhone Twitter client).
Apart from this great feature, there are some other nice “to have's†such as Facedialer, which does exactly what the name says. Considering that most mobile phone users call 10 people 80% of the time, this could be a nicer quickdial list.
iPhone Contact Management Innovation
Friend Book
Trend Themes
1. Contact Exchange Apps - The emergence of applications like 'Friend Book' that facilitate the exchange of contact information between smartphones presents an opportunity for further innovation in this space.
2. Usability Innovations - The development of user-friendly features like shaking two iPhones together to exchange contacts highlights the potential for disruptive innovation in enhancing the usability of smartphones.
3. Native Iphone Applications - The focus of software development companies like Tapulous on creating native applications for the iPhone and iPod Touch opens up possibilities for disruptive innovation within the iOS ecosystem.
Industry Implications
1. Mobile App Development - The increasing demand for contact exchange apps and user-friendly features on smartphones creates opportunities for disruptive innovation within the mobile app development industry.
2. Smartphone Manufacturing - The integration of innovative usability features into smartphones, such as shaking to exchange contacts, presents a chance for disruptive innovation within the smartphone manufacturing industry.
3. Social Networking - The development of applications like 'Friend Book' that facilitate the sharing of contact information could lead to disruptive innovation in the social networking industry by creating new ways for users to connect and communicate.