Yelp iPhone App Now Even Yelpier With Big Update

Yelp is kinda like that know-it-all friend who collects all those old Macs and watches Dr. Who obsessively: full of obnoxious, sarcastic comments, but more precious than gold when information is needed.

Those who don’t yet have Yelp on their iPhones, go get the free app now. It’s ok — we’ll wait.

Now that we’re all on the same page, let’s roll. The biggest new feature we can play with is Check-In, which lets Yelpers broadcast their location by hitting the “check-in” button when they enter an establishment, so Yelp buddies can know exactly where the user is. Also works vice-versa, and Yelp’s augmented-reality Monocle view will show checked-in buddies on the screen. Check-in at the same location often enough and Yelp will call you a “regular.” And then, who knows, they might name the next Tapas plate after you.

But the coolest addition is ridiculously simple, yet enormously useful — especially to someone as directionally challenged as me: Hold the iPhone flat, and the map rotates with you so that no matter which direction you face, the map will remain spatially correct. Why doesn’t Google Maps have this feature?

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Update: Google Maps does, apparently, have this feature. Thanks to everyone for the heads-up.

There’re other neat little tweaks like bookmark support and better profile viewability…but you already know that, because we all waited while you downloaded it.

8 comments »

About the author

When he was eight, Eli Milchman came home from frolicking in the Veld one day and was given an Atari 400. Since then, his fascination with technology has made him an intrepid early adopter of whatever charming new contraption crosses his path — which explains why he's Cult of Mac's technology editor. He calls San Francisco home, where he works as a journalist and photographer. Eli has contributed to the pages of Wired.com and BIKE Magazine, among others. Hang with him on Twitter.

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Posted in iPhone Apps, News |

Phil
Uh, google maps DOES have that feature?
Dan
Ya, open Google maps on your iPhone 3G S and tap twice on the location button at the bottom left of the screen.
joshua
like previous poster said, google maps does have that feature. to use it, simply push the “locate me” bullseye two times instead of one, and it’ll orient you geographically.
neat traveler trick. go to somewhere you have wifi and plan a walking route in, say, paris or london. google maps will cache the map and direct you along the route even without an internet connection using the correct orientation. neat.
AndyM
Google maps does have that feature. Just hit the location button twice. I’m not sure when they added it, but I found it a few months ago when I was driving. It actually makes google maps usable when driving.
http://mighttees.com erfon
i thought google maps did have the rotating maps feature, i think i even got it working once, but maybe i was dreaming. the rotating maps should be on by default on google maps, extremely useful!
Eli Milchman
Why does no one tell me these things?? I mean, yeah, NOW. Does anyone know how many hours I’ve spent wandering around lost because I have no directional ability whatsoever? Many.
Jeffrey
Fairly certain the writer was being sarcastic, guys.
http://ihbs.co.uk Ben
Google maps only has the rotating function for the 3GS. on the 3G it sticks firmly to the spot.
Yelp has a pretty bad review in the app store here in the UK, all the reviews complaining that the info is either wrong or out of date. and seeing as it mostly does what the google maps app does anyway, why not just use google maps?