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LinkedIn is the best social network to be in when professional networking is the main agenda. With millions of people around the world active everyday in the network, LinkedIn has devised new ways for people to access their LinkedIn accounts and make sure that they stay in touch with their colleagues and prospects no matter where they are. Even without a computer or laptop, it is now possible to keep LinkedIn close to you as long as you have a mobile phone that is wirelessly connected to the Internet.

LinkedIn iPhone Application

The iPhone gained a lot of popularity after developers started to create special applications that are designed to make their web services easier to access taking full advantage of the screen size and multi-touch features. LinkedIn followed by introducing their own iPhone application on August 21st boasting a similar interface as the iPhone contacts. Many of the core features in LinkedIn can be used from the iPhone including the contact searching which is easily accessible from the bottom panel.

In addition, connections can be viewed in a minimalistic way by pressing the “Connections” icon on the bottom of the screen along with other contacts that these people are connected to. It is also possible to add new connections if new prospects or acquaintances were found via search or other profile. Any updates posted by contacts are reflected in the main window as well. If there are contacts that are willing to introduce you with others, you can review those introductions from your iPhone. By pressing the “Invite” button on the upper right of the screen, you can invite new people to LinkedIn the same way you could in the computer. Currently the iPhone application comes in English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese, and Chinese with more languages being supported in the future.

LinkedIn Mobile

So far, there are no other mobile specific LinkedIn applications. This means that non-iPhone users must rely on the LinkedIn mobile site which can be accessed at http://m.linkedin.com. You will be immediately presented with a login form where you type your e-mail and password and optionally choose the language. Once you are logged in, you can immediately search for a contact or choose 7 other options that are part of LinkedIn’s main features. You can broadcast your status message to let others know where you are or you can browse your address book to obtain information that may not be stored in your phone book. Lastly, you can invite and view the public profiles of colleagues. You can check out the other features by visiting the URL using your browser even if you are not using a mobile phone.

The features of LinkedIn mobile are actually similar to the ones found in the iPhone. What the iPhone really excels in is the overall layout of the functions and convenience in choosing contacts and connections. iPhone users benefit from the best possible mobile LinkedIn experience, but other mobile users are not left in the dark.