Review: Foursquare for BlackBerry

Location-aware applications allow you to use your mobile device to share your location with friends and family when you are out and about. You can use these applications to pinpoint a lost device, find a friend in a crowded city, or just let all of your friends know where you like to hang out. Foursquare is a simple social network that allows you to "check-in" to your favorite hangouts, and notify all your friends.

How many times have you been out shopping and texted or emailed friends about items you saw or an incredible sale? Foursquare provides a simple way to share this kind of information. When you get to a store, restaurant, theater, or any location, just fire up Foursquare, Check-in, and give a Shout to your friends. Your location will be sent to your Foursquare friends along with any information you shared in your shout. If you had a bad meal at a restaurant, or experienced poor customer service at a store, you can let everyone know at once.

Foursquare became a hit really quickly, because the concept is simple, and businesses found a new way to lure new customers in. When you check-in at any location, Foursquare may also display offers and sales from surrounding businesses. Some businesses may even offer free items through Foursquare just to drive customers to their doorstep.

The Foursquare application interface is not complicated. Once you've created an account, logged in, and added some friends, you can Check-in. When you Check-in, you're given a list of places in your immediate vicinity to choose from. While you are checking in, you can also send a shout.

If you click on the Tips icon in the upper right corner of the screen, you will see a list of notes left behind from other Foursquare users who have visited places in the vicinity. Foursquare users leave notes about coupons and sales, comments about service, and even warnings about the temperature in venues. If you need to know whether or not to bring a sweater, check the Tips.

When you Check-in, you may see places that have Specials. When you choose a place with a special and click on the Special Here icon, you can see what the business has to offer. Some businesses like Chili's are giving away free appetizers if you show the server your Foursquare screen after you've checked in. Both Foursquare users and the businesses advertising specials benefit from this relationship.

Pros

• Simple, easy-to-use application
• Great way to communicate with friends and other customers
• An easy way to get freebies
• Saves the trouble of sending email or SMS to friends

Cons

• Sharing your location can be a security issue
• You only have to be near the location to check-in
• Current version of the BlackBerry app is not wi-fi enabled

Good Application for a Great Service

Foursquare is not for everyone, but it is a great way for customers to provide feedback to businesses. It's also an easy way for businesses to drive business through their doors. Foursquare is not for everyone, but if you want to share your experiences when you're out and about, this simple app and smart service are a great way to do it. Hopefully more functionality will be added in the future, and businesses will take the feedback they get from customers and use it to make improvements.