Android Users Gain Social Homepage, Study Distraction with *Spark

*Spark proves that a silly product name can still lead to massive success. A screenshot of the *Spark homepage.If you have a smart phone running Android or Symbian, you may want to check out *Spark from HipLogic, which recently launched in beta. The app allows you to transform your phone’s launch screen into a one stop shop for your Twitter feed, Facebook, the weather report, and news headlines.

The aim of the app is to give Android and Symbian users a way to access all the constantly updated data that they’re interested in without having to go to separate apps for each individual service. It has the potential to make non-iPhone smart phones more attractive to potential users, and it plays on Android's multitasking strengths in a way that lets the OS shine.

In many ways, *Spark seems like Tweetdeck (which now has its own Android beta) with the addition of the weather and news features. The decision about which is more appealing will likely rely on how much users want those two features--as well as the home-screen accessibility that is *Spark’s biggest selling point. For those who want immediate, constant access to the aggregate feeds of all of their social networks, *Spark will likely be the better choice; for those who have to manage multiple Twitter accounts or who are likely to get distracted from schoolwork by the constant flow of data, one of the other apps is probably more appealing.

There are a variety of apps that potentially do the same thing--especially on Android phones, with Google’s relatively open marketplace. However, from early reviews it seems that HipLogic has managed to make an intuitive, relatively bug-free app for its consumers--something that many Android users have yet to see in the previously available apps--and in targeting Android users who want constant social network updates, HipLogic will potentially make *Spark a hit with college students.

Readers: What do you think about *Spark? Do you have an app that you prefer to it? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter.

[via TechCrunch, TweetDeck]