SocialScope Throws Its Hat Into the Social Network Ring. Does It Last 10 Rounds?

From its humble beginnings as a Blackberry Twitter client, SocialScope has always seemed to be in a perpetual state of beta.  I was first granted access into the SocialScope for Blackberry beta as the owner of the original Blackberry Storm (it’s going to be better than the iPhone, guys!) and it became my mainstay twitter client.  When I switched the the MOTOROLA DROID the exact day I was ready to upgrade, I bid a fond farewell to SocialScope and began a relationship with Plume.  A few weeks ago, tweets began flying around about a near-release ready version of “Scope” coming out for Android.  With a few quick Google searches, I was able to discover that Scope was the latest iteration of SocialScope and it was available for Android.  What was once just a Twitter client had now blossomed into a full blown social media hub.  How does it hold up against other Android clients?  Let’s dig in and find out!

What is Scope?

Scope is the latest in a growing trend of all-encompassing social media hubs.  For the fast moving person on the go, it can be a huge pain to check Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Foursquare, MySpace (really?) and any other number of social networks, one-at-a-time and all from a mobile device.  Throw in factors such as Facebook’s official app being nigh-unusable, shrinking disc space and less free time, and the solution seems pretty logical: one social media tool to rule them all.  On the web, tools like Hootsuite allow users to compile all of their networks into one convenient place to check updates.  The mobile space is no stranger to tools like hootsuite.

Scope attempts to join the market by integrating Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Instagram and Tumblr, allowing the user to both filter by individual network and compile all networks together.  In addition to reading, Scope has tapped into the social networks’ APIs to allowing posting and interaction with posts.  A user can, for example, view an instagram photo and “heart” it, all from Scope.

But, how does Scope work?

By integrating a cross-page posting tool, Scope makes it incredibly easy to post to one, some, or all of your social networks at any given time.  From nearly every page, users can click on the red “+” and choose to post an update, location, image or future photo.  Depending on the particular update selected, users are then directed to the appropriate entry field where they can further direct their update.  Want to upload a photo, but only want it to go to tumblr and twitter?  You can do that.  On the opposite side of the screen is a blue drop-down menu that allows you to access all updates, or updates broken down by type.   In the upper-right hand corner of the screen, a filter can be applied to drill down by specific social network.

Conclusion and Review

Scope’s interface is really fluid and intuitive, and adding social networks and using them have made this app my go-to social networking app.  Images and websites are all displayed locally, but can be opened up in their respective app if you feel it necessary.  Thus far, I haven’t felt it necessary, keeping the Facebook app closed the majority of the time.  The Scope app is nearly flawless, with the only downsides being the fact that you cannot post images to Instagram and, at times, notfications seem to be a bit on the buggy side.  In addition to this, one of my biggest complaints about Scope is a complete lack of any widgets.  Come on folks, this is Android.  The operating system was practically built on widgets, and to not include even a “Post Update” widget is a major flaw.

On the flip-side, the app seems really stable (it’s yet to crash on me) and is visually amazing.  It’s incredibly easy to use and presents social media in a way that isn’t entirely overwhelming.   Menus don’t get in the way or intrude on reading updates, and floating around the app is really easy and fun.

Guru Review Score:

Ease of Use: 8/10 (Points deducted for buggy notifications)

Graphics/Design 8/10 (No widget?  Seriously?)

Overall: 8/10