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"Managing your address book on an iOS device has never been easy. The default Contacts app is robust on the iPhone, but updating profiles and user information is laborious. It\u2019s far from seamless and often feels like a chore, similar to keeping on top of your email or calendar.\r\n\r\nReach Network is the latest startup looking to solve this problem with digital business cards that update automatically. The idea is that similar to About.me, each user has a profile with links to various contact information and profile pages, such as LinkedIn, Google+ and Instagram. Whenever you update a section, other Reach Network users see the change in real-time, side-stepping the need to update everything manually.\r\nHow it works\r\nCreating your profile is pretty straight-forward, following the usual registration process either via a Facebook account or email address. If you opt for the former, Reach Network will build your first card based on the information already available on the social network, such as your profile picture, email address and location.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nThe app will then ask to draw from your existing address book in the Contacts app, ensuring that all of your friends, family and colleagues are there from the outset.\r\n\r\nReach Network gets a little tricky, however, when you have to start thinking about multiple cards, and who you want to share them with. The \u2018Me\u2019 tab in the bottom left-hand corner reveals all of the profile cards that you\u2019ve generated so far; a common setup would be to have one for friends, work contacts and strangers.\r\n\r\nThey\u2019re all completely configurable, with support for a background image, short bio, multiple social networks and other contact information, such as Skype and AIM.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nTapping the \u2018Share\u2019 button at the top of the screen will push the card to other people, either via email, SMS, or new Reach Network users. It\u2019s an improvement on Livecards, a similar feature offered by Cobook, which is useless unless other people are using the app.\r\n\r\nThere\u2019s also a method of exchanging date to a nearby device via a customizable code. I wasn\u2019t able to try this out during testing, but I can see it being incredibly useful during conferences and networking events; a digital alternative to business cards, if you will.\r\n\r\nHitting the Contacts button at the bottom of the screen reveals your existing address book available through iCloud. It works well enough, but does little to improve on the default Contacts app.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nSwiping right at the top of the screen, however, switches to Reach Network contacts. These will update automatically, provided the user has chosen to connect with you. Changes appear as notifications back in the \u2018Me\u2019 tab, but the joy is that everything works without user input.\r\n\r\nThere\u2019s an option to set your card to public, so that anyone on Reach Network can find your contact information. Privacy is a key concern here, so double-checking what details your sharing is paramount. However, if you\u2019re looking for a particular contact outside of your network, it could be an invaluable feature.\r\nThe bottom line\r\nEveryone wants an alternative to business cards. Few people keep a Rolodex these days, which results in a drawer full of unnecessary and undervalued cards.\r\n\r\nPlenty of companies have tried to create a digital alternative, but none have managed to create the kind of traction needed to become the \u2018go-to\u2019 service.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nReach Network is one of the best address book apps available on iOS right now. It\u2019s a tough call between this and Cobook - I still prefer the latter due to its ability to synchronize with the Mac OS X companion app - but the way that Reach Network treats profile cards is admirable.\r\n\r\n\u27A4 Reach Network |\u00A0iOS\r\n\r\nDisclosure: This article contains an affiliate link. While we only ever write about products we think deserve to be on the pages of our site, The Next Web may earn a small commission if you click through and buy the product in question. For more information, please see our\u00A0Terms of Service.\r\n\r\nImage Credit:\u00A0Justin Sullivan/Getty Images"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://thenextweb.com/apps/2013/05/02/reach-network-is-an-address-book-app-for-ios-that-updates-your-contacts-information-in-real-time/reach3/>