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Foursquare test app whispers restaurant suggestions through your earbuds
Foursquare is launching a Marsbot for AirPods suggestion that proactively whispers place suggestions through your earbuds.
'Pokémon Go' introduces remote raids to encourage staying at home
'Pokémon Go' has added raids you can play while staying home during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Amazon adds location-specific reminders and routines to Alexa
Alexa isn't just for at home anymore. Thanks to an update from Amazon, Alexa devices can perform time- and location-based routines and reminders, triggered at a given time or when you enter for leave a specific area. The update, which includes some features first introduced earlier this year, also adds the ability to place calls to businesses in your city and provide a summarized version of your emails.
Facebook tests Snapchat-like map for Nearby Friends
Facebook's eagerness to replicate Snapchat features might extend beyond particularly conspicuous elements like Stories and selfie filters. The company has confirmed to TechCrunch that it's testing a rework of Nearby Friends that introduces visuals uncannily like Snapchat's Snap Map. While the conventional list is still there, testers can see friends grouped by city and neighborhood. You'd have a better sense of whether or not a friend is town without having to read a sea of text.
Set location-based reminders with your voice on Google Home
Google added voice-controlled Reminders to its Home devices last September, allowing it to catch up with Alexa and Siri. You could set one-off and recurring reminders on a daily or weekly basis as well as contextual reminders that would propagate to your Android phone, too. Now you can set location based reminders with your Google Home device and then get reminded on your phone.
Google auto-detects your whereabouts to get local search results
The country codes in Google's top-level domain names don't mean anything anymore. The tech titan has moved away from relying on country-specific domains to serve up localized results on mobile web, the Google app for iOS, as well as Search and Maps for desktop. Now, your location dictates the kind of results you'll get -- you could go to google.com.au, for instance, but if you're in New Zealand, you'll still get search results tailored for your current whereabouts. You'll know the location Google recognizes by looking at the lower left-hand corner of the page, as you can see above.
Swarm redesign shows just how much it knows about you
Foursquare's Swarm check-in app has catered to lifeloggers before, but never quite like this. The location-centric company is launching Swarm 5.0 for iOS (Android is coming in a few weeks) with your trip history as its focus. The check-in map is now at the very heart of the app, making it easy to see where you've been. You can share it, too, if you want to keep your friends up to date. There's also a revamped profile that gives you a better view of your many achievements, whether it's your ongoing check-in streaks or the number of unique places you've visited. You can even see places you have yet to mark on your 'bucket list.' It's a bit disconcerting to realize how much info you've volunteered to Swarm, but this is a big help if you're trying to remember the last time you visited a given restaurant.
Foursquare's revamped city guide app puts search at its center
Foursquare's namesake app is all about finding things to do around town, but it hasn't really put the strongest focus on the finding part -- it's usually focused on suggestions. Well, the company is fixing that today. The new Foursquare 10 for Android and iOS has a redesigned home screen that puts search at its heart. On top of a more prominent search box, you'll also get big quick access buttons that help you find common activities, such as dinner or nightclubs. And if you're on iOS 10, you'll get rich notifications that include photos and quick actions.
Swarm brings back Foursquare's real-world perks
Foursquare is continuing its quest to bring back all the things you liked from its old check-in app. Swarm now offers real-life perks depending on where and how often you check in. You'll get a discount if you swing by certain stores, for instance, or enter to win a prize if you complete a challenge across multiple shops. Only some locations will have these benefits, but Foursquare is promising "hundreds" of prizes ranging from cruises to drones to VIP concert tickets.
You can predict city gentrification through check-ins and tweets
Do you dread the thought of gentrification jacking up real estate prices (and stifling culture) in your neighborhood? In the future, you might only need to keep tabs on social networks to know when your part of town is changing -- British researchers have learned that Foursquare check-ins and Twitter posts can help predict gentrification. If many people start visiting unfamiliar locations in materially-deprived neighborhoods (say, trendy new restaurants) with their friends, that's usually a good sign that these areas will be gentrified before long. Accordingly, places that are dominated by locals and regulars tend to resist that shift, no matter the income levels.
Bringing empathy to the Middle East through gaming
Navit Keren grew up in Israel. She's lived through the signing of historic peace treaties, and horrific terrorist attacks. Just as important though, she's witness to the dramatic deterioration of the relationship between Israelis and Palestinians. The biggest problem she sees, is a lack of empathy. Those living on the other side of the divide are not people, but enemies. "Others" to be feared and hated. Her effort to bridge the gap between the two sides is a pretty novel one: a location-based game. Welcome to the West Bank is merely a working title, but it gets right to the heart of the game. Israeli citizens, primarily teenagers, would play as Palestinian teenagers living in the West Bank. Basically she's asking people to walk a mile in someone else's virtual shoes.
Police think Waze's traffic app puts officers in danger
You may use Google's Waze app primarily to avoid traffic jams and watch out for speed cameras, but some American police see it as a threat -- and they want Google to do something about it. Officers speaking to the Associated Press believe that Waze's police finding feature, which is mainly meant to warn about speed traps, makes it too easy for would-be cop killers to find targets. These critics hope to muster support from law enforcement groups and push Google into disabling the feature so that it's not relatively trivial to "stalk" uniformed people from a phone.
Google Maps' new, context-savvy local guide reaches Android
Google quietly slipped out a big upgrade to Maps' local discovery features on iOS a couple of weeks ago, and today it's Android's turn. Once your device gets the refresh, you should see a new Explore guide that offers suggestions for things to do based on both context and your tastes; it knows not to point you to a nearby park when it's raining, and can suggest breakfast spots the night before you need them. In that sense, Google Maps could become a solid alternative to familiar location-based recommendation apps like Yelp and Foursquare. Don't be surprised if it takes some time for Explore to arrive, though. It's just starting to reach Android this week, so you may have to rely on other tools for a little while longer.
Foursquare redesign for iOS brings you more location info at a glance
Foursquare gave its iOS check-in app a makeover just a few months ago, but it's already back with a redesign that takes fuller advantage of Apple's platform. The version 7.0 app has a more compact layout that puts more information up front -- you'll see more of your friend feed and a carousel of tips. It also refreshes with each launch, so you're more likely to notice what's going on nearby. You won't necessarily have to open the app to see what's going on, though. In sync with the 7.0 refresh, Foursquare is rolling out its push recommendations to all Android and iOS users; you'll only have to visit a new town or a friend's favorite eatery to get advice. iPhone-toting travelers can grab the new client at the source link, while the expanded notifications will automatically appear on their own.
MMObility: Checking in on location-based MMO Life is Magic
The mobile market is a great place for unique games as well as remakes and games that are influenced by past titles. But mobile is sort of a Wild West right now, one filled with titles that are obvious ripoffs of more popular games or games that are advertised as MMOs but are nothing like an MMO. I don't mind coming across a game or two that is MMO-like, but when a game claims to be something like the "most popular MMO on the market" or "the first mobile MMO," I get a bit peeved. Luckily there are a lot of great titles to choose from, games like Arcane Legends from Spacetime Studios or Grepolis from Innogames. There are also games like this week's Life is Magic, a neat location-based MMO that comes from Red Robot Labs. It leans a bit more to the pseudo-MMO side but is still a lot of fun when you want some turn-based action.
Proteus launching on PS3 and Vita this month with new world generation options
Curve Studios' "video dream" Proteus will launch this month on PS3 and Vita. The exploration game will include new world creation features on the Sony platforms. Players can generate their worlds using the Vita's location-tracking option and by using the current date on both PS3 and Vita. Also, players will have the chance to "remix" their worlds by using the Vita's back touch panel, and can still let the game randomly create their pixelated dreamscape. Proteus first launched on PC and Mac in January. For those that can't wait for the PS3 and Vita versions, it is available on both Steam and DRM-free through the game's official site DRM-free for $10.
Shadow Cities closing down October 7
First announced in 2010, Shadow Cities was set to be a completely new experience in MMO gaming. The location-based mobile game secured millions in investment capital and had a promising showing at GDC 2011. But all of that wasn't enough to keep the game afloat almost three years later. Finnish developer Grey Area has announced that they will be closing down Shadow Cities on October 7 of this year. The game has already been removed from the iTunes App Store as of today and it will not accept new Mana Potion purchases. [Source: Grey Area release]
Foursquare now available for Windows 8
Foursquare revealed its plans for a Windows 8 app two months ago, and it's making good on its promise by launching the software today. This first tablet-specific version of Foursquare offers the check-in and location discovery features we've seen in the company's mobile apps, but in a very photo-centric interface that takes advantage of the extra screen space. Both the map view and location pages also expose more detail at the top level, such as nearby hotspots and associated lists. If you want to check into sushi bars with your Surface, you can grab Foursquare's app through the source link.
Twitter is testing a timeline box for nearby events, too
Remember how Twitter is quietly testing timeline boxes that show trending TV shows? That's not a one-off experiment: TechCrunch has also discovered a similar test for live events happening nearby. Instead of focusing on a person or series, the new box highlights a representative event tweet and offers a shortcut to more tweets associated with that event's hashtag. As before, Twitter isn't directly confirming the existence of its latest trial run; it will only say that it practices "innovation through experimentation." Given the widened scope of the company's testing, however, there's a real chance that these context-sensitive cards could soon become ubiquitous.
Foursquare gives Superusers web links to map editing tools
Foursquare switched to editable OpenStreetMap data for its check-in services over a year ago, but many of its users wouldn't know it when there hasn't been a way to tweak maps through place pages. As of today, Foursquare is encouraging a little more interaction: Superusers (frequent contributors) in Australia, Brazil, Germany and the UK can now click a web link to edit a location in OpenStreetMap. Those who aren't keen on signing up for OSM can still leave a note with their proposed changes. There's no mention of plans to expand access to regular users, but the firm expects additional rollouts to Superusers in areas where map data is less than trustworthy.
