I had no idea what BrightKite was until Andrew mentioned this client to me. It seems to be a mix of Twitter with a lightweight Facebook community style interface that throws in your location into the mix. You essentially use it to post your location and see what friends you have around. It also lets you start a conversation with people nearby. They have had an iPhone app for awhile now from what I can tell but one of their users Challgren decided to develop a slick unofficial BlackBerry client for them.
The client is in Alpha stage but reports are back that it works like a charm. The only problem is that BrightKite is one of those networks stuck with the chicken and egg conundrum. Its not very useful unless you have friends on their network. On the other hand the network cannot grow unless people register… In short you really need to be committed to giving it a good try to see if it is worthwhile.
The app looks really nice and includes many features from the service:
- Check In Via Google Search and GPS
- Check In Via Placemark
- View: FriendStream, Around You, and BrightKite Universe Stream
- Post Notes
- Post Comments
- View Mentions
- Edit Privacy
The developer is kindly asking for donations since he has put in over 150 hours of work and is developing this application on a 8100 without GPS… Maybe if he gets the app listed in the App World it will gain enough traction. Personally I think he should try and sell the app to BrightKite or maybe just apply for a job since he definitely has the talent… 🙂
You can find more details on this thread on CrackBerry forums otherwise you can download it OTA at this link or from your desktop using the web installer at this link. If you give it a go let us know what you think!
doctorklein Not Registered
Posted: May 26, 2009 at 8:42 AM EST
The App works extremely well for an alpha. Keep in mind the app is fairly useless if you have yet to make friends or explore brightkite via http://www.brightkite.com, without friends the bb app will show you nothing. So go to the website and explore your local areas, make some friends, then run the app while your out and about! Look forward to more updates!
Robert Woodside Not Registered
Posted: June 7, 2009 at 9:51 PM EST
Also check out Centrl, they also just released their free BB app, pretty cool LBSN – http://centrl.com