Over a few short weeks, mobile live streaming has found a home in Periscope. Periscope is a free application from Twitter for iOS devices. Periscope has undoubtedly beaten a first comer in the market MeerKat. Periscope lets users share what is happening now, and relive it later, thanks to the application’s saved stream feature. The application has made a recent update that puts a little more polish on the app and makes it easier to find streams that are most important to the user.
The periscope app requires a user to have a twitter account to be able to use it. Just like its rival the Meerkat, Periscope is an iPhone app only, even though the developer has stated that an Android version was in the works and would soon be released into the market.
When a user first starts up the Periscope app, there is a display of colorful cards that explains the basics of the app, and how users can activate periscope to gain functionality of the Camera, microphone and locational services of the app. A good thing about Periscope is that it integrates all the information into the tutorial of the application.
Unlike Meerkat, Periscope lets the user choose who they follow, Meerkat automatically let the user follow everyone they follow on Twitter, which is a negative aspect. Periscope has made this functionality optional, and also includes a feature to follow other popular users on Periscope platform which the user does not necessarily follow. The app also has a default feature enabling users get a notification whenever someone they know starts using Periscope or when one of your friends on Periscope loads a new live stream on the platform.
Periscope also lets users watch other users live streams without necessarily following them. The main difference between Meerkat and Periscope is that periscope offers its users an option to save their streams. This is made very clear at the immediate applications main that shows the both live and ended streams. Periscope new update lets the application, the user is able to see, featured streams, already watched streams and streams from other people that you follow. This is a very positive update on the Periscope app since all the relevant content is placed upfront.
Before broadcasting a stream, the user can toggle the location information; they can also preview the stream to see how other viewers will view the live stream. Periscope also lets users host a private session with selected members or host a public session. A new update feature also lets users block comments from people you don’t follow on the live stream. Even though the app has been thoroughly polished, it didn’t come with some negative effects, some users have complained of the app crushing on initiation, that is something the developers have to work on. This is no doubt a revolutionary app, with a few bug fixes and introduction to Android and other mobile platforms, the application will be a total success