Watch out Facebook and Twitter, because Microsoft is bringing its social networking service Socl to the iPhone, Windows and Android smartphones. The apps may simply be another facet of the experimental service, or it could signal Microsoft's intentions to get more serious about the social networking market.
Microsoft adds an iPhone app to Socl... when did Microsoft get a social networking service?
Microsoft launched Socl in late 2011 and ever since has offered the service only through a Web browser interface. With native mobile apps, it should be easier for users to share their content with whoever might also be on the service.
Unfortunately for users, according to The Verge, Microsoft just put Web wrappers on the mobile website version of the service and called it good. That means users won't see any real benefits from using the apps.
Regardless of how good -- or bad -- the apps may be, the fact of the matter is that Microsoft decided it was time to make them. Up until now, Socl has been a pretty low key project for Microsoft and is run by the company's research division. This may signal Microsoft's first try at bringing Socl into the mainstream.