As the old saying goes, “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.” TriOut, a location based social network focused on the Raleigh, NC area has now opened their doors to the world with v2.0.1 of their iPhone app. The update also integrates nicely with competitors foursquare and Gowalla, allowing users to check in to all three services at once.

Once you’ve linked your TriOut account to foursquare and/or Gowalla, you’ll see your friends from those services in the activity feed. You can also check in to foursquare and Gowalla venues (and post them to Facebook and Twitter) by choosing those services on the checkin screen. If the venue you’re looking for doesn’t exist, you can choose from a list of foursquare venues to import it automatically.

TriOut offers a few unique features, as well. You can see a list of nearby events courtesy of Eventbrite and use the built in QR code reader to check in from venues that display the codes. TriOut also allows you to post videos and photos with your checkins. Venues can be reviewed and rated with a star system. Each action earns you points on the TriOut leaderboard.

For first time users, the checkin function can be a little hard to find. You swipe up on the bar at the very bottom of the screen that reads “Found Your Location. Drag Up to Check In.” When you do so, you’ll find that it makes a guess at which venue you’re trying to check in from, taking a few clicks out of the process.

TriOut offers their own set of deals and sponsored badges, but most are still isolated to the Raleigh area. The photos, videos, events and reviews make it a nice addition to the landscape of location-based networks. Integrating with foursquare and Gowalla was a good move to help them make headway with a worldwide audience that’s already mostly using one of those two services.

Have you, err, tried out TriOut? Let us know what you think in the comments.

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