> I don't think theres any walled-garden conspiracy going on here - I honestly think this is the fault of the linkedin devs (or more likely project managers). What does a linkedin app need to do? Mostly they just need to do is display profile text and a few images inline. A mobile browser can display text and images perfectly fine - thats its bread and butter functionality. If you're having problems there, you done fucked up.
The question you actually answered is, "What I do with LinkedIn?" LinkedIn has a lot of functionality many of its users use every day. Things like groups, statuses, endorsements, recommendations, etc, etc. It's not just a resume viewer. Sit down with a competent recruiter or sales exec and watch them use it. It's rather eye-opening.
Sorry, I think I worded that confusingly. By 'what does the app do?' I meant more along the lines of 'how much would a front-end client tax the technical limitations of a smart phone?', so that is the hypothetical question I was answering. I'm not insinuating that linkedin is a simple service in terms of what info people might want to store on a database about each other.
The question you actually answered is, "What I do with LinkedIn?" LinkedIn has a lot of functionality many of its users use every day. Things like groups, statuses, endorsements, recommendations, etc, etc. It's not just a resume viewer. Sit down with a competent recruiter or sales exec and watch them use it. It's rather eye-opening.