Archive for category Mobile Apps

QR codes are one of the most often asked about topics, but up to now I’ve pretty much avoided the subject. That’s mainly because it’s been three years since foursquare launched, but there’s still no good way to check in using a QR code that works across all the major platforms.

I recently checked out foursQR on the iPhone and it’s a pretty good solution for iPhone users. No, it’s not the answer for everyone, but it works very well in certain cases.

You can quickly create a PDF QR code sticker on foursQR’s site for any venue and put it wherever you like – provided you have the owner’s permission of course.

What’s it good for? Any place that you check in often and that you control. I’ve put one on the wall next to my desk at the office. I can check in using foursQR in less than 10 seconds thanks to its automatic check-in function at places I’ve added as favorites. It’s a fast and easy process.

So, what isn’t it good for? Well, everything else. Unless you’re good friends with the owner, it’s unlikely you’ll get permission to put one of these up at any of your favorite businesses and it’s unlikely that any business will put one up on their own.

Why? Because the QR codes are proprietary to foursQR’s app — and the app costs 99 cents.

If you scan the code in any regular QR code app, you’ll be taken to a mobile web page that offers you the option of downloading foursQR (if you’re on an iPhone) or loading the venue in your foursquare mobile app. Needless to say, by that point you’re not saving any time at all over just starting out in the foursquare app.

In addition, foursQR’s codes aren’t compatible with the QR codes that function pretty well on Android devices (and recently in 4th & Mayor on Windows Phone 7). Those codes are able to link directly to the foursquare app. Unfortunately they degrade to the awful foursquare mobile site (no, not even the touch-based version that brands can use) on iPhone and Blackberry, making them of little practical use.

We’re still a long way from the day when users across all platforms will be able to check in using NFC, so for now QR codes are the next best thing. Sadly, no one’s come up with one that works across every platform without requiring some proprietary app. Until they do, it’s highly unlikely any business will put one in their doorway.

It’s also unlikely that we’ll ever see QR codes come natively to the official foursquare apps. In an interview with Fast Company’s Austin Carr during last year’s Social Media Week, foursquare co-founder Dennis Crowley said:

I’ve never really been bullish on QR codes. It’s hard enough to get people into checking in. It’s a tough sell for people.

foursQR is a nice app for what it does. I really like using it to check in at my office, but that’s about where the utility stops. Beyond that, it’s not of much use.

The app is available for 99 cents in the iTunes app store. If you’ve got a place you check in to regularly where you can put one of the stickers, give it a try and let us know what you think in the comments.

Do you miss foursquare’s in-app shout button? No? Me either, but there are at least a handful of people who do.

That’s why there’s a new, free app available for iOS called Shouter! It performs exactly one function: publishing location-less shouts on foursquare.

The feature was removed from the apps beginning with the iPhone app in June of last year. At the time, the decision was much maligned by those who used the feature, but since then it seems to be largely forgotten. They were never removed from the API.

With foursquare being a location-based service, shouts never really had a place. They were much more like a Facebook or Twitter update than anything else on foursquare and never really fit into the flow of the UI. Many new users were confused about the difference between check-ins and shouts, so it made sense to remove them from the apps.

If you’re a shout fan, give Shouter! a try and let us know what you think in the comments. While you’re at it, let us know what you use the shouts for.

Do you ever feel like you’re getting into a rut? Going to the same bars and restaurants over and over again? Maybe it’s time to venture out and try something new. That’s the principle behind Wahili, a new iPhone app that aims to help you find new places to try based on your favorites.

You tell Wahili which places are your favorites (by searching foursquare venues) and it returns a list of suggestions using foursquare’s new “similar venues” API. The venues it lists tend to be very accurate since they’re based off the same data foursquare uses to power Explore.

Wahili is using the foursquare API, but it’s clearly aimed at the non-foursquare crowd as a simple way to introduce some basic recommendations without the need to sign up for an account. Foursquare users, of course, can tap the Explore tab for instantaneous recommendations based on their past checkins. Plus, Wahili doesn’t interface with your foursquare account to help find your favorite venues automatically.

It’s one of the first apps to use foursquare’s powerful recommendation features in a way that doesn’t require a foursquare account. That opens it up to a whole new set of users who might view foursquare as just a check-in app, but might be willing to get a few basic recommendations of some new places to try. In some ways, it’s what I expect foursquare to focus on in 2012 — a recommendations app where accounts (and checkins) are optional.

The folks behind Superpages, a local search service that started out as a knockoff of the Yellow Pages, have released an updated iPhone and iPad app. The new version incorporates tips from foursquare, so users can quickly see what foursquare users had to say about a place.

The Superpages app uses a spinner to help users select a category quickly. They can then browse through a list of places and then drill down on a specific venue. That’s where they’ll find the tips from foursquare, which look much more useful than the limited number of reviews that are found on the same screen.

Users can also search by voice just by tapping the microphone next to the search box, which is especially handy when you’re looking for something while you’re on the road. The voice recognition is powered by Nuance, owners of the Dragon dictation apps and software.

Also new to the app is a listing of gas prices at local gas stations. Prices are shown on a map or with the listing details of any station, making it a one-stop app for local information.

The new Superpages app is a nice addition to the local search game, especially in its iPad optimized version. The spinner makes it easy to find what you’re looking for and the integrated foursquare tips help to quickly find the general sentiment toward a place.

Superpages is available for free in the iTunes app store. Give it a try and let us know what you think in the comments.

Hopscotch, the iPhone app for foursquare superusers, was updated yesterday to version 1.3. Along with the usual bug fixes and performance improvements (and venue distances!) comes one major new feature: native duplicate flagging.

Superusers can now flag duplicate venues directly in the app without having to access foursquare’s non-mobile venue tools page. The merges are much more accurate than using foursquare’s “flag as duplicate” feature, since you can specify exactly which venue is a duplicate of which.

Reporting duplicates is easy with Hopscotch. Simply choose the duplicate venue from the list, and then choose “Flag as duplicate of…” You’ll then be taken to a list of similarly named venues near the first one you selected (you can adjust the search term if necessary). Click that venue in the list and it’s added to foursquare’s duplicate queue for another superuser to merge.

In addition to duplicate flagging, Hopscotch users can correct venue names and addresses, categories and venue locations directly from the app without having to visit the foursquare website at all. These features only work for foursquare superusers; if you’d like to become one, you can apply online.

Hopscotch is available for free in the iTunes app store.

What do you think of the new version of Hopscotch? Have you used it to edit any venues while you’re on the go?