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Engadget Daily: Handling the Blackberry Passport, discovering the world of Findery and more!
What's the deal with Blackberry's new square-shaped phone? Brad Molen took it for a spin and, as it turns out, the Passport's not as awkward as it seems. That's not all we have on deck, though -- read on for the rest of Engadget's news highlights from the last 24 hours.
Findery: the crowdsourced travel guide
"Find yourself on this map," Caterina Fake said enthusiastically. Fake, widely known as the co-founder of Flickr, had just greeted me into the Findery office, an airy loft tucked inside a nondescript building in the Hayes Valley district of San Francisco. Before I could take in the high ceilings and the afternoon light shining through a black pirate flag hanging from a railing, Fake directed my attention to what looked like a large, 16 x 20 framed portrait of a galaxy.
Findery app lets you discover the world around you using annotated notes and maps
Findery (free) hit the App Store today, and I expect it is going to be a successful app launch. Findery has been in beta a couple of years, so it already has a lot of content. Many new apps launch with very little user-contributed content, which is a weakness in my estimation. Findery allows people anywhere in the world to add notes, photos or video to illustrate the interesting things they see or experience. "Every place has a story, or a thousand stories," said Caterina Fake, founder and CEO of Findery. "Findery brings places to life, be they where you stand or where you hope to go." The app doesn't require an account if you just want to browse, but part of the fun is sharing. Members can leave notes that are public or private, and the app helps to organize a member's notes, reports activity on their notes, and provides information on followers. The app is easier to use than describe, and you can check out the idea and the content on the Findery website. A good example is best taco recommendations around the US, but topics can be really anything, from historical oddities to best surfing locations. Findery has elements of Yelp and National Geographic, Facebook and Instagram, yet in total it is a unique experience. Once you have the map, you can scroll and zoom to any place in the world and see what information people have uploaded. I tried the app from my small town in Arizona, and surprisingly there were quite a few items of direct interest to me. Obviously, the beta users have been busy. If I wanted to, I could leave my own notes on some of the local topics, or follow those who were making notes. The app is ad-free, but at some point it will likely be monetized. I found using the app easy and fun, and I learned some things about my area I would not have known otherwise. Findery is not universal, and it requires iOS 7 or later. It is optimized for the iPhone 5. I consider Findery a good 'find'.
