4th & Mayor ousts official foursquare app as Mayor on Windows Phone 7

A new foursquare app launched yesterday for Windows Phone 7 with many of the features missing from the official foursquare version. 4th & Mayor includes photos, comments, the “Explore” feature, new leaderboards, and — most importantly — it actually works.

Thanks to Microsoft paying the initial development costs, foursquare was one of the first apps available when Windows Phone 7 launched. The app hasn’t seen any new updates since then, languishing behind the Android and iPhone clients. For many users it’s recently stopped working altogether since they’re no longer able to log in.

An avid foursquare user disappointed with the performance of the official app, developer Jeff Wilcox stepped up to the plate to build a better version. His initial plan was to offer a paid premium app, but when he learned the official app stopped functioning for many users he “decided not to charge for my app, my gift to the Windows Phone community that loves foursquare,” he says in a blog post.

On top of checking in and seeing where your friends are, 4th & Mayor includes the photos and comments features foursquare released last December. Wilcox was even able to work in the new leaderboards and Explore features after they were released two weeks ago. He’s currently working to incorporate checkin photos and the new specials offered by foursquare. Specials are supported by the API, but the documentation hasn’t been released yet, so some reverse engineering is necessary.

Wilcox claims the app is much faster and more responsive. It’s beautifully designed to fit with the Metro theme of Windows Phone 7. You can choose between a light and a dark theme.

The app is available for free in the Zune Marketplace. If you’re a Windows Phone 7 user, give it a try and let us know what you think in the comments. Podcast host Ching Yu is currently reviewing the app and will provide his thoughts this weekend.

A video from Wilcox showing 4th & Mayor in action is after the jump.