There was a time when business people would have to endure endless lunch meetings and protracted telephone calls in order to get the wheels of industry in motion, but modern technology has changed much of this; using the internet, these corporate suits can now handle much of their money-making activity online, leaving them free to indulge the more pleasurable aspects of being a city-based fat cat.

LinkedIn is just one such example of how the advance of the internet has benefited modern commerce. Using the site you can get in touch with thousands of people worldwide, all involved in different areas of business. The site has revolutionised the way in which these professionals communicate and has taken much of the stress out of keeping in touch in this fast-paced world.

LinkedIn for the iPhone is very much like some of the other big-name apps we’ve seen lately, like Facebook, Flickr and eBay. It essentially takes the information that is already present on the main site and rearranges it so it’s easier to explore using the iPhone’s touch-screen display.

Those of you that have already used LinkedIn will be aware that it boasts a sometimes dizzying array of options within its labyrinthine menu system, but this mobile version does a sterling job of condensing it all down to only the most salient points.

Once you’ve signed into your account (you’ll need one to use this app, naturally) you’re presented with a timeline which isn’t entirely dissimilar to the one seen on Facebook. It shows all of the activity of people already on your contact list, highlighting new connections, profile changes and other goings-on.

Along the top of the screen you have a list of options that allow you to filter the information shown in this data stream. For example, you can choose to just show which people have updated information in their profiles (this is useful if you’re looking for someone who has recently switched jobs). The bottom of the screen is populated by several other options, such as Connections, Search and Status.

Tapping a name on your timeline will open up their profile, which displays pretty much the same information you’d find on the fully-blown website. From this screen you can also choose to send the person a direct message.

Naturally, this iPhone iteration of Linkedin doesn’t offer the same degree of customisation as its web-based big brother – for complex actions, you’ll need to go direct to the main site – but what it does offer is a quick and easy way of keeping track of what’s happening in your sphere of business.