Nokia seems to be putting a lot of focus on the software front lately. Reportedly, Nokia is in the process of porting one of its social apps Pulse, originally meant for its WP7 devices, over to Android as well, and iOS too.

Pulse by Nokia is like Foursquare, where you can check into venues, automatically tag photos and updates with your location, and is integrated with Maps, making finding people nearby, discovering new places, and getting directions easy as snap.

Nokia Pulse is currently available on Symbian and Windows Phone 7 platforms, and it looks like Nokia is pushing for expansion to the bigger and more widely adopted platforms like Android and iOS.

Have a look at the stuff this app can do:

Group Conversations:
Keep it Private. Keep it Personal. Keep it Real.

  • Private check in – All your conversations stay private and safe
  • Photo check in – Automatically tag your location to all your photo updates
  • Private by default – No complicated privacy settings needed

Live Places:
One tap and they know where you are. Two taps to get you there.

  • Bring your favorite places to life – Post a favorite place to a conversation
  • Discover what’s nearby – Make and view recommendations of nearby places of interest
  • Getting there is a snap – Get directions directly from the recommended place

Your People:
Your Family. Your People. You Decide.

  • Instant – Receive instant on-device notifications of all new updates
  • Open – Everyone with an email address can participate
  • Easy – Sending and receiving messages with Nokia Pulse is as easy as SMS
  • Powered by the cloud – Your conversations are saved in the cloud for as long as you need them
  • Accessible from anywhere – Nokia Pulse is available on multiple touch-points (desktop web, mobile web, WP7 and Symbian devices)

All this is great, but I’m wondering what the other Pulse, my favorite news reader app for Android, which also happens to be extremely popular on iOS, would have to say about this. Sure, both Pulse apps serve distinctly different purposes, but then in the digital and overcrowded world of mobile apps, where patent lawsuits are going viral, nobody remembers the old saying ‘What’s in a name?”. But I’m pretty sure Nokia has thought about this, and have something up their sleeve.

The app does look interesting, although it would just add to the long list of similar apps which have already been around for some time now. But then, competition is always welcome, as it inevitably brings about improved products, and thereby a wider choice for the end user, which is you and me.

So what do you think of this app. If it were to be released as a paid app in the Android market place, would you be willing to buy it? Or would you rather stick to your current favorite networking app? Share your thoughts and opinions with us in comments below.