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Google+ team delivers boatload of updates for mobile users

Both iOS and Android have received a wide array of tweaks, including "on-the-go profile editing."

Don Reisinger
CNET contributor Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has covered everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Besides his work with CNET, Don's work has been featured in a variety of other publications including PC World and a host of Ziff-Davis publications.
Don Reisinger
2 min read
A look at Google+ for the iPhone.
A look at Google+ for the iPhone. Google+

Google+ Vice President of Engineering Dave Besbris has unleashed a new slate of features for the social network's mobile users.

Android users got extra attention this time around, with the addition of improved notices when friends share updates, as well as the ability to edit profiles from phones. In addition, Google is now letting its Android users access Google+ Communities, a feature it unveiled earlier this month that allows people to create either public or private groups around interests.

However, Besbris spent the majority of his time focusing on photos. Android users will now be able to upload photos to the social network in full resolution. Previously, Google would crunch photos to fit within a specified resolution and save space. However, Besbris did note that users are limited to 5GB of uploading space.

On the iOS side, Google added many of the same features, including support for Google+ Communities. And here, too, photos are a big deal. Besbris notes in a blog post that the new iOS version of Google+ "lets you swipe through photo albums inline; you can tap once to view photos in all their glory; and the iPhone app now applies a subtle pan-zoom-scale effect to pictures in the stream."

In both iOS and Android, Google+ now lets users send messages to guests through the Events feature, or invite folks to the event via e-mail or IM.

One other addition to Google+: support for Hangouts over a 150KB-or-greater connection -- a move, Besbris says, that will allow users to more easily connect with people "in parts of the world with extremely low bandwidth."

Both the Android and iOS apps are available now in the Google Play marketplace and the App Store, respectively. The apps are available for free.