I’ve been spending a lot of time, probably too much time, testing the first iteration of Google Plus and I’m fairly certain where I think it will take root. Google Plus will be the social network of the mobile world.
Given a few changes that I’m sure will surface soon (bi-directional connectors to Facebook and Twitter for example) I predict that this tool is likely to end up baked into the Android phone and tablet operating system soon and will therefore make Android the first mobile product to have a complete, single-vendor toolset for the most popular internet based mobile activities.
Gtalk +video (Instant messaging)
Gmail (Mail)
Plus (Social networking)
Reader (RSS)
Maps (Location search and Navigation)
Documents (Basic office doc creation and storage)
Google Print (print from mobile)
Latitude (Location tracking)
Picasa (Instant Image storage)
YouTube (Instant video storage)
Blogger (Blog creation)
Search
News and Weather
Payments
Voice and SMS
A few I missed (Thanks Beantin, comments)
Contacts
Calendar
Tasks
Of course you’ll have to endure the advertising but that doesn’t seem to worry too many people and with the location component of Plus giving Google important data, could get better, especially if they introduce ‘interest’ circles.
There isn’t another operating system out there, either on desktop or mobile, that can offer this.
Android is currently being activated by 500,000 accounts per day. That’s a huge number of potential Plus users even if Android doesn’t get any more popular.
Google Plus is already the best mobile social network in my opinion but with the addition of the rest of the toolkit, will there be any need to install 3rd party solutions at all?
Thoughts on improving Plus: http://hiblue.carrypad.com/2011/07/03/ideas-for-google-plus/
Posted, possibly while reclining, with the Galaxy Tab 7
Agree with you on this one Steve. Android will be the natural hub for Google Plus, removing the need to “move” from Facebook. Over the next few years the migration could (will?) happen naturally. One thing you missed from you list is Google Contacts – and there in lies the beginning of a Facebook/Twitter connector.. You can already link contacts there, they just needtofeed that back up to Plus.