Popular location-sharing network Foursquare has updated its app for BlackBerry to version 3.2.1, packing a host of new features and a redesigned UI.

The most notable feature is the overhaul of the Venue and Check-in screen, while the entire layout is now amended to take into account devices with high-res screens. Also, many users were having issues connecting to BBM servers, so Foursquare responded by improving the handling and performance of connecting to BBM terminals. However, the app still lacks the ability to set keyboard shortcuts for non-touchscreen phones, a popular feature found in the Twitter app.

Other new features include major technical improvements to the GPS/location-based services, which were notoriously inaccurate on the BlackBerry platform. You’ll also find several bug-fixes and tweaks for battery-life optimization, which is certainly helpful for an app that utilizes your device’s built-in GPS.

The update to Foursquare v3.2.1 is available in BlackBerry App World for free, and is available for any device running OS 4.2+.

via Crackberry

One of BlackBerry App World’s best beta apps, Foursquare, received a major update last week. Foursquare is a location-based, social networking service that allows users to ‘check in’ at local venues from their mobile devices in a variety of ways. The service’s popular mobile apps are available on all major smartphone operating systems.

Foursquare released v1.9.77 of its app for BlackBerry, and can be downloaded here on your device. The update is expected to arrive in the BlackBerry App World soon. The previous version, included mostly bug fixes and aesthetic improvements for touch screen based BlackBerry’s. This latest update, however, greatly enhances the Foursquare mobile experience for all crackberries.

Improvements include the ability for users to ‘check for updates’ within the app and add comments to a friend’s check-in. The new version supports fixes to add friends and profile photo uploads. Also included is a beautifully designed trophy case that displays badges and overall speed improvements for a better rendering experience.

Perhaps the most elegant update to Foursquare’s beta is the addition of a stunning photo gallery viewer. To enter this view, click on a photo in venues to enlarge the picture, then click once more to enter the photo gallery view. If you’re an avid BlackBerry user, you know firsthand how irritating it can be to deal with in-app photos on a 480 x 320, barely 2″ screen. With the photo gallery view, Foursquare makes this far more tolerable.

via Crackberry

Mobile check-in service Foursquare has added two new features to its iPhone app: photos and comments. The company says these are two of the most frequently requested features, and here’s how they’ll work: When you check-in to a location, your friends can comment, letting you know they’re nearby, the burgers suck at the place where you’re getting lunch, or whatever. You can also take a photo when you check in, allowing you to show the meal you’re eating, the decor of the restaurant, or other relevant (or irrelevant) info.

While check-in photos you upload are only visible to your friends, you can leave tip and venue photos which are available to the larger Foursquare community. Foursquare can send you push notifications (if enabled) when your friends comment.

You can download the latest version of Foursquare for iOS from the app store. An updated version for Android with support for photos and comments is due out later this week, while BlackBerry users should get the same features next month.

Check-ins are the new microblogs. While services like Twitter and Facebook let you share your latest thoughts with your friends in a few short characters, apps like Foursquare and Gowalla have made a name for themselves by letting you “check in” to a physical location with your phone. You can stop by your favorite bar, restaurant, clothing store, library or any other location and let the world know you’ve been there — not by pulling out a can of spraypaint and tagging the walls, but by clicking a button on your phone.

The only problem is that there’s a growing number of ways to check-in, and who wants to fire up their Yelp, Facebook, Foursquare, and Gowalla apps to check-in to every network?

Gowalla has launched a new version of its mobile app today which makes things a lot simpler, because you can check-in to multiple networks all from one face. This might seem a bit counter-intuitive since on the face of things, Gowalla competes with Foursquare. But it could actually be a pretty smart move, since now you don’t have to choose between the two services. You can just link your Foursqare and Facebook accounts to Gowalla, along with Twitter and/or Tumblr and send updates to contacts on all of those networks at once.

The new app also adds support for bookmarks and notes, which let you leave a note for yourself or a friend. That way your friend can find your note next time they check-in at a location.

Gowalla 3 for the iPhone is available as a free download from the App Store. Updates for the company’s iPad, Android, and BlackBerry apps should be available soon.

After a few months of beta testing, the developers of the TweetDeck client have released version 1.0 for Android. It’s available as a free download from the Android Market.

TweetDeck is a social networking tool that lets you post updates to your Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, and Google Buzz accounts, and read the latest updates from your contacts.

If you’ve been using the beta version, you should uninstall it before loading TweetDeck 1.90 on your phone.

The software is still a work in progress. TweetDeck promises that future versions will have better support for landscape mode and deeper Facebook integration. But the new version should be more stable than the test releases that were downloaded by about 36,000 testers.

TweetDeck is also starting to develop apps for the iPad and iPhone.

You can checkout a demo of TweetDeck 1.0 for Android after the break.

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TweetDeck has already pushed out several updates to its Android app since launching the first public beta a few weeks ago. This week the company put out a new version which has a couple of new features, most notably three new widgets that you can place on your Home Screen.

There are three new widgets, including a compose, column, and bar widget. The column widget is a 2 x 3 box that lets you view the latest messages from one of your TweetDeck columns (Direct Messages, Home, Me, etc), while the Bar widget is a 4 x 1bar that you can place on your screen for quick access to those same columns in the full TweetDeck app.

The compose widget lets you jot a quick status update from your home screen — without first loading TweetDeck. You can also hit the camera icon in the compose widget to quickly snap a photo and upload it. The software is still in beta, so don’t be surprised if you find a few bugs. For instance, while I was able to compose a message using the compose widget, the text box was ridiculously small and it cut off the text on the yellow “Send” button. You can see what I mean in one of the screengrabs after the break.

TweetDeck Beta 0.9.8 for Android is available as a free download.

via Android Police

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TweetDeck has officially launched a public beta version of its new Android app. TweetDeck is a tool that lets you keep up with multiple social networking accounts at the same time. You can link your Facebook, Foursquare, Google Buzz and Twitter accounts to TweetDeck for Android, and one thing that sets it apart from most third party Twitter apps is that it supports multiple Twitter accounts.

An early build of the software leaked unofficially yesterday, but the version that you can download today direct from TweetDeck is much more polished. For one thing, it has an “Accounts” button that lets you go back to the accounts screen any time you want to add or delete a Twitter, Facebook, or other account. The old build was somewhat buggy and only let you adjust your accounts the first time you logged in.

TweetDeck also has clients for desktop computers, the iPhone, and iPad. And one of the defining characteristics of TweetDeck is the ability to display multiple columns of data, with information such as updates from your contacts, messages directed at you, and custom searches. The TweetDeck Android app keeps this column paradigm — but rather than trying to display all the content on screen at the same time, you can swipe the screen to the left or right to switch between columns.

Different social networks are color coded so that, for instance, Facebook messages have a blue background and Twitter messages have a gray backaground. This makes them easy to tell apart at a glance.

TweetDeck lets you update your status on various social networks and interact with messages from your contacts. For instance, on Twitter you can reply, retweet, or favorite items. When you’re using Foursquare, you can check in, leave a tip, or open a map. Facebook lets you reply to comments or hit the Like button.

You need to register for a TweetDeck account to try out the beta. Once you fill out the form, TweetDeck should send you a download link in a few minutes.

Update: The official beta is now available for download.

Yesterday we reported that TweetDeck for Google Android would be available this week. Today it is… kind of. A pre-release build leaked out, and a number of folks have grabbed the installer file and taken it for a test drive. It actually works pretty well, but TweetDeck CEO Iain Dodsworth says the build floating around right now is actually an older version — and that the real beta will be available tomorrow.

He recommends avoiding the old build that’s making the rounds today. But I decided to ignore his advice and take a quick look. The app seems to work pretty well, and has one of TweetDeck’s signature features: The ability to create custom columns. Say you want to keep track on the latest tweets from the public timeline about Google Android. Just hit the search button, enter “Android,” and click the “Add column” button at the bottom of the screen.

While you can display multiple columns side-by-side on the desktop software though, the mobile version of TweetDeck lets you switch between columns by swiping left or right. Only one column shows up at a time.

The default columns show your personal timeline, @replies, and direct messages. You can use TweetDeck for Android to keep up with your Twitter, Facebook, Google Buzz, and Foursquare contacts. Each service is color-coded, so that, for instance, Twitter updates have a gray background while Facebook updates show up on a blue background.

Another killer feature? The ability to manage multiple Twitter accounts.

You can click on any message for more information, allowing you to favorite a message, retweet, reply, comment, or like — depending on the social networking service. You can also click on a contact’s picture to bring up their profile. You can open links shared by your contacts in a web browser by clicking on them.

The current build is still a little buggy. For instance, there’s no obvious way to return to the account screen after you login for the first time — meaning that if you want to add a new Facebook, Twitter, or other account after your initial login, you may be out of luck. But I suspect the official beta due out tomorrow will address that issue.

via EuroDroid

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