San Francisco – In an attempt to outsmart the social media juggernaut that is Facebook – especially after the latter’s latest efforts in the search arena – The Mountain View company, over the weekend has made a small but important step in that direction by making available its Google+ iOS apps to 48 more countries and territories, according to a Google+ post by engineer Frank Petterson.
The Google+ iOS apps essentially reflects the traits of their online counterpart including Circles, Communities, and Hangouts. While releasing the apps, Petterson said:
“Today we are excited to make the Google+ iPhone and iPad apps available in 48 more countries and territories. To get started just visit the App Store on your mobile device, search for ‘google+’, and download the app!”
As a matter of fact, making the Google+ apps available in more countries will of course significantly expand Google+’s user base as a social network. The Google+ apps were originally released in the middle of 2012, providing users the ability to access and share content to their Google+ Circles, access their notifications, and even initiate audiovisual Hangouts.
According to its App Store page, the app itself is being optimized for the iPad a couple of week back, making navigation simple. The Google+ app supports up to 9-person video chats via Hangouts, while photos can be configured as well to automatically upload to an album on the social network. Likewise, photographs can be sent straight to friends via Events.
Moreover, the latest version offers support for Retina display. Besides, the integrated chat messenger that is popular with many users, while users can stream and share webcam video feeds directly with other people. The app is free to download, and requires iOS 5 or higher; it weighs in at just under 20MB.
The 48 new countries and territories include: Albania, Anguilla, Barbados, Benin, Bermuda, Bhutan, Brunei Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Chad, Republic of Congo, Dominica, Fiji, Gambia, Grenada, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Liberia, Macau, Malawi, Mauritania, Federated States of Micronesia, Mongolia, Montserrat, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Saint Lucia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and The Grenadines, Suriname, Swaziland, Sao Tome and Principe, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Turks and Caicos, Ukraine, British Virgin Islands, and Zimbabwe.
While Google+ still has significantly far fewer users than rival Facebook, the community itself is a tech-savvy and tight-knit one. The iOS app is strikingly functional and beautiful to use. Thus Google+ is striving to reach worldwide audiences with a unique platform that gives the users more privacy and control over how and to whom they share posted content.