Sonar brings iOS style social discovery to Android
Social discovery app Sonar makes its way from iOS to Android just in time for South by Southwest. And we have invites to the limited beta for the 250 readers who can move fastest.
Sonar is riding a wave of social discovery apps that includes Banjo, Glancee and Highlight, but it isn't a newcomer. The New York based startup has made the rounds on iOS for the better part of a year, but today it's available in beta on Android to a handful of lucky readers.
Like others in the field, Sonar enables you to make meaningful connections with people around you -- people you wouldn't otherwise have known. It works by aggregating geolocation data across social networks and then creating relational correlations among individuals based on shared connections. So if you're having lunch and a friend of a friend walks in, you'll have the opportunity to connect with the person on the spot.
The field for social discovery apps is getting crowded quickly, but it seems that no one yet has gotten it quite right. Until then, we're likely to see other apps, and possibly new efforts from established geo players like Foursquare, before the industry crowns a clear winner.
If you're an Android user and want to give Sonar a shot, we have 250 invites for our readers. Just visit the Sonar Android Beta page and enter the code "CNET."