Twitter & Facebook meet iBelieve

A few weeks ago I blogged about improvements being made to an iPhone app named iBelieve (Find Others of Like Faith? – There’s an App for That). I also discussed  a spin-off of this application, named iBelieve Plus. Well, the team at Design Iteration has finally finished polishing these apps. As a result, iBelieve 1.1 and iBelieve Plus 1.o hit the App Store this week. The price of iBelieve 1.1 is still free . However, iBelieve Plus will cost $0.99 due to the the added ability to save and view Facebook and Twitter information about users.

For the current 3000+ users of iBelieve 1.0, the updates in version 1.1 will be quite noticeable.

Facebook and Twitter Connect:

The user of iBelieve Plus now has the ability to allow their faith marker to be shown on the map – or not. By toggling the on/off slider the faith marker can be shown or removed.

Also, the user has the ability to display his or her Facebook or Twitter user name beside their faith marker. This allows others to search and friend the other users of similar faith in Facebook and Twitter. With the on/off slider, this function can be instantly turned on or off with a swipe of the finger. It is worth noting that in iBelieve 1.1 you will be able to see Twitter and Facebook icons next to faith markers that have enable this feature in iBelieve Plus. However, you will need to upgrade to iBelieve Plus to see the Twitter and Facebook information.

Show All with 3D Multicolor Markers:

Another upgrade added to iBelieve 1.1, and included in iBelieve Plus, is the abilityto show all users of all faiths on the map at one time. In addition, each major faith affiliation has been assigned a unique color to make it easy to distinguish various faith concentrations on the map at a glance.

Previously, in iBelieve 1.0 the faithmarkers were basic green circles without any visual depth.  Even though this was a simple graphics upgrade, it has significantly enhance the ability to see what is going of on the maps.

Faith Affiliation Percentages:

And, finally, the significant enhancement released in iBelieve 1.1 and iBelieve Plus is the ability to see user percentages. As you scroll through the affiliation picker, the percentage of users saving a marker under each affiliation is displayed.  For example, the overall percentage of Christians using iBelieve is currently just over 15% of the total users while Muslims represent just over 10%.

Download iBelieve 1.0 for Free on the App Store

Download iBelieve Plus $0.99 on the App Store

iBelieve Connect - Street Level Zoom

About a 3 weeks ago the iBelieve for the iPhone  hit the app store.  It has been exciting to watch the map populate everyday with more and more dots representing the faith of iPhone addicts around the world.  But, it has been much more intriguing to read the user reviews that rolled in requesting new features. iBelievers spoke out about what  they thought would make this app really pop. And, it was well received.

So, what was the feedback? Resoundingly, “Let us connect with other users of similar faith!”  and “Let us see all users at the same time” . So, that is what has begun tobe implemented in the release of iBelieve.

Users will be able to choose to associate their Facebook user name, Twitter user name, or both with their chosen affiliation and approximate location. Zoomed out to a world view, only the location dots of users will be seen. But, when they drill down closer to street level on the map, you will see the contact info flag next to the user’s marker.

In addition, the picker on the Map Screen will allow all faith affiliations to be displayed at one time on the map.  Each major religion category will be shown in a distinct color when the “Show All” category is selected, showing the regional mix of faiths in a glance.

I am looking forward to the release of the new iBelieve features within the next few weeks. Hopes are that this new version will help move forward social networking among and across the multiple faith groups around the world.  The world becomes a smaller place everyday.

iBelieve 1.o is free on the App Store. Until the new and improved iBelieve is available in a few weeks, please take a moment to download a copy @http://bit.ly/FK0Z9. Thanks for your help!