Gone are the days of collecting piles of business cards. Now that CardMunch (the LinkedIn iOS app) is here, there’s no need to hang onto any business card. In case you aren’t familiar with CardMunch, this app takes a photo of any business card, and store a card’s information inside of the CardMunch database. When you want to access someone’s card, all you have to do is look at your personal contacts.

When LinkedIn purchased CardMunch awhile ago, many of us in the tech world wondered how the social media company would change this app. CardMunch didn’t evolve much over the past year or so, but today CardMunch gets a whole new LinkedIn-centric upgrade. As you might have guessed, it is now easier than ever before to connect all of those collected cards with LinkedIn contacts. That’s right, the dawn of the networked business card is here – and I like what I’m seeing.

How the new CardMunch Works

After you’ve allowed the app to “munch” a card or two, this app will then provide you with your new contact’s information – including that person’s LinkedIn profile information. So, you can automatically connect with anyone through LinkedIn after storing business card details. Now, if you already use LinkedIn to network, you know how great this new app addition is. Attempting to remind someone of how you met, so that you can connect via LinkedIn, can be tricky.

Now, all you have to do is munch a card and connect minutes later. All of those juicy LinkedIn details that you want to know about can be yours in a flash. In addition to a new LinkedIn feature, CardMunch now includes an easier to use camera that’s faster as well. Various camera settings make it a cinch to snap any business card. Lastly, there’s a new interface to go along with all of the new CardMunch features. You’ll find that this version of CardMunch is simpler to use, which means that it will take less time to munch a card.

CardMunch is Invaluable

When tested, the new CardMunch worked very well. If you are an avid networker, you know how difficult it is to juggle hundreds of business cards – not to mention highly inefficient. CardMunch allows you to add new contacts to your contact list, connect through LinkedIn, and really network with someone to the max. If you are in any kind of business, you need to download CardMunch.

Sadly, CardMunch is not available for Android users quite yet. LinkedIn has announced that it is working on an Android app, but you’ll have to use an iPhone in order to use CardMunch at the moment. There’s no talk of a Windows or BlackBerry app at the time of this writing. If you don’t have an iPhone, you will want to snag this free app as soon as it arrives on your platform.

If you do have an iPhone, what are you waiting for? CardMunch is the only way to store contact information, keep business cards from cluttering up your workspace, and connect with everyone you meet through LinkedIn quickly and efficiently.