Hands-on with v2.2 for iPhone: more than just photos and comments

Now that v2.2 of the foursquare for iPhone app is finally available to everyone, we’ve taken it for a spin and discovered it has a lot more going on than just photos and comments. You’ll see new features all over the place. Here’s a rundown of a few that jumped out at us:

• It’s Snappy! — Now that the app has been switched to v2 of the foursquare API, it’s clearly faster. Loading the list of friends’ checkins or nearby venues happens very quickly. It feels much faster than previous versions.
• Loading Icon — OK, the app is snappier, but that doesn’t mean everything loads instantly. To remove any confusion while things are still loading, they’ve added a new “flaming mayor” icon in the lower right corner so you’ll know when something is still loading.
• Trophy Case — One of the enhancements in v2 of the API is the trophy case, which allows you to separate foursquare badges from partner ones. Just like the foursquare website, clicking a badge you haven’t earned gives you a tip on how to unlock it. Even better: badges now show up in the list no matter where you earned them.
• Photos and Comments — This was, of course, the big focus of the new version. When your friends check in with a photo, you’ll see a camera icon in the friends list. If there are comments, there’s an icon for that too. Clicking either one takes you to a new checkin screen that shows the photo and comments and lets you add your own.
• Flag inappropriate photos — With the ability to upload photos comes the obvious ability to add inappropriate photos. When you view a photo through the app, foursquare has smartly added the ability to flag photos that shouldn’t be there. Their community team will then review the photo and remove any offensive ones.
• Photo Tips — I think this might be one of the most powerful uses of photos, but it will be a little while before it really takes off. Adding a photo to a tip has an elegant interface. You simply click the camera icon next to the tip text box.
• Labels on venue options — With v2.0, foursquare added a few icons to each venue page that allowed you to add tips, to-dos, etc. With the new version, there’s also one for adding photos to the venue. These icons could be a bit confusing, so foursquare has added labels to them to make sure everyone understands what they do.

UPDATE (1:12 pm): After playing around with the app a little more, we found a couple more things worth mentioning:

• The checkin confirmation screen has been completely revamped. It’s now much cleaner and easier to understand. The only thing I don’t like is that you can no longer click the mayor’s photo to see their profile.
• When you view the comment screen for a checkin, you can add photos to the checkin using the camera icon in the upper right. It came in handy today when I checked in for lunch and then added a photo of my food when it arrived a few minutes later.

What’s your favorite part of the new iPhone app?