I’ve written before that there are many great iPhone Apps… but nothing that is truly game-changing (yet).

I’ve also written about how the iPhone’s contact management system needs serious improvement.

So when yesterday’s LinkedIn App hit the iPhone – I got excited because it was a chance to merge your business contacts with your phone… and it’s close, but not perfect. The app gives you full access to your LinkedIn directory and even gives you the ability to call contacts directly from the application. Search is easy and smooth – whether it’s within your contacts or across the larger network. And you can build and manage your network from within the application.

But where the application fails to impress me: you cannot save contacts to your phone.

The ability to download vcards from LinkedIn.com is the feature that I find most useful and the reason I most log in to LinkedIn. I am not sure whether it’s because the iPhone doesn’t enable it or LinkedIn has made a conscious decision (realizing it would reduce the application’s stickiness)… but merging contacts between the iPhone and LinkedIn immediately improves the phone’s contact system and motivates me to actively grow and manage my LinkedIn network.

Until then… it’s useful for a now-and-again search query.

Popularity: 3% [?]