11 things you maybe didn’t know the XING Android app could do

David Montiel, Senior Java/Android Developer

As you already know, XING has an Android app available in the Google Play Store that we continuously upgrade by adding very useful features for your networking needs. So here‘s a list of some of those features that will show you how to get the most out of XING using the Android app.

Share on XING

Wherever you see the “share” option in Android OS you’ll find the option to share on XING. So in the Twitter app, for example, you’ll see all the apps that allow you to share text after pressing the share button. Then just look for XING in this list and share your information with your XING network.

Share on Twitter

The XING Android app allows you to share anything you want in the Twitter network feed as well. Simply check the “Post on Twitter” box before you post your update and once it has been shared on XING, you’ll be taken to your favorite Twitter Android client with the text already there so all you need to do is press the send button to share your XING status on Twitter.

Share a profile via NFC (XING Beam)

If you and someone else both have an Android 4.0 device with NFC (Galaxy Nexus, for example) you can share your own and other XING users’ profiles by simply putting your phones together. Once the phones are within range the NFC devices will detect each other. Then just press the “Beam” option on the screen and the profile will be shared.

Share a profile via QR code

Another easy way to share a profile (yours or someone else’s) is via the QR code feature.

To generate your QR code, go to the “Handshake” section and press “Show QR Code”. You’ll then see the QR code associated with your XING profile. Another way to do this is to simply go to someone’s profile and press menu –> “Show QR Code”.

To read a QR code, go to the “Handshake” section and press “Read QR Code”. The camera will then start up and all you have to do is focus your camera on the QR code to open that user’s profile.

Share your profile via location

The “Handshake” section also contains a “Location-Based” option which uses Android location services to find other XING users nearby who also share their location in the same way. You can then add them to your network if you know them, making it perfect for meetings and conferences!

Tablet Optimized

If you are lucky enough to have an Android tablet, you can enjoy the tablet optimized view we have for the “Contacts” section which divides the screen to show a list of users on the left and detailed profile view on the right. We are working to optimize more sections for tablets and will of course let you know once we’re ready to ship them.

Badges

Since the last release, the main dashboard of the app also contains small badges letting you know the number of unread messages, contact requests, new visitors to your profile and XING contacts who are celebrating their birthday today. This information provides you with an instant overview of new items for you to check out.

Notification Settings

The XING Android app notifies you if you have any unread messages, contact requests, or if a XING contact is celebrating their birthday today. You are free to choose how often the app checks for updates to this information by going to the menu, followed by “Settings”. There you can select the notification frequency and even disable certain notifications.

Contact Synchronization

You can easily add all of your XING contacts to the address book of your Android phone by going to the “Contacts” section of the XING app and pressing the synchronize button in the top right-hand corner. Your contacts will then be transferred to your address book and updated once a day to make sure they’re always up to date.

Search Button Location

Some users may be a bit lost since we removed the search button as one of the main options on the dashboard a couple of releases ago, but if you look closely the button was just moved to the top right-hand corner of the same screen in order to free up some space for the “Connector” section. In any case, if your Android device has a physical search button, you can press it at any time to perform a search within the app.

Enlarge Photos

If your phone is not very big or you want to take a closer look at someone’s profile photo, you can enlarge it by clicking on the person’s photo when visiting their profile.