LinkedIn to launch BlackBerry app with native features

Ties in with contacts and calendar.

Business-focused social network LinkedIn has unveiled its BlackBerry application, making use of native APIs to tie into users' contacts and calendars on their handsets.

“When we talk to our members, they ask us frequently for one thing – LinkedIn for the BlackBerry,” said LinkedIn's Adam Nash, as he showed the app off on-stage today at the BlackBerry Developers Conference in San Francisco.

The app offers similar features to the existing iPhone version, in that users can browse the feed of updates and information from their contacts, while searching for people on the 50-million-strong network.

However, its USP on BlackBerry will be the way it ties in with the device's messaging inbox, allowing users to respond to LinkedIn requests quickly. It also works with the calendar – people can click on email addresses of people they're due to meet with, and go directly to their LinkedIn profiles.

There's been plenty of buzz around mobile social networking on iPhone and Android, but not so much on BlackBerry – other than its impressive Facebook and MySpace apps. However, LinkedIn is a perfect fit for RIM's platform. The company may say it's increasingly appealing to consumers, but its huge base of business users will be flocking to this app as soon as it launches.