yelp

Yelp for BlackBerry is a first stab to get Yelp.com's core review-reading features on BlackBerry phones. The three-panel start screen lets you browse or search for listings, or access your recent searches. It's not especially flashy, but it did successfully help us find a lunch spot, map it using Bing (movable) maps, and scan reviews for recommended entrees. You'll be able to view photos, launch the Web site, and call the number, but not upload your own snaps while you're actually onsite. We do appreciate the new tool to map directions to a business via … Read more

Yelp is no longer a newcomer to BlackBerry smartphones (not since last August, anyway,) but the BlackBerry app has only been available outside RIM's marketplace, BlackBerry App World. Starting on Wednesday, Yelp for BlackBerry (review) will also have a presence in the BlackBerry App World, both in the downloadable storefront on the phone and in the online catalog.

Downloading Yelp via App World takes advantage of App World's My World tab, which tracks the apps you install on your BlackBerry, and which can reinstall applications on a new smartphone if you switch devices.

App World features the latest … Read more

Wilson is "out sick" today, but we're lucky to have Ms. Natali Del Conte nearby to replace him on the show. She was working out of the office last week, so we take this opportunity to update ourselves on all things NDC and you'll be surprised to hear of the changes coming to Loaded. We're so proud of her. Congrats, Natali!

We officially kick off this Monday episode by defining the Web's trendiest new buzzphrase, "augmented reality." We're not sure who came up with it, but it's all the rage in the world of iPhone apps. For example, Yelp built an Easter egg into its app that uses the smartphone's GPS to superimpose digital data onto the world through the camera, making it easy to view restaurants, taxis, bathrooms, and subway information around you. We think it's pretty cool, but Gawker has its own application ideas, like an app called ClubLech, which uses facial recognition and user-inputted data to identify all the singles in a room. Sounds creepy and, like a lot of technology, it takes the fun out of getting to know someone in person. Plus, who wants a digital sign superimposed over their head pointing out their depressingly single relationship status?

Are you having a hard time saying goodbye to "Reading Rainbow?" We are, too. The show has been on the air for 26 years and just recently celebrated its final episode on August 28. We're sad to see a relic of our childhood go the way of the dodo, but it makes perfect sense, since we're pretty sure kids are just illiterate now, so why have a show to promote books? But don't take our word for it; just ask a kid to define the word "Scholastic."

If you want to get your voice mail heard on the air, just give us a call at 1-855-404-CNET and tell us what's on your mind! Could be something about one of our shows, maybe one of the hosts, or just something random that popped into your head. We'll take them all!

Episode 47 of the Digital City, where we install Apple's new Snow Leopard OS update; discuss the current round of game console price cuts; check out some Netbooks with HD displays; and find out why Time Warner Cable's new "Mystro" cable box firmware update makes us want to give up on TV altogether.

Related links: >>All things Snow Leopard >>New price cuts upend console value landscape >>Rise of the high-def Netbooks

>>Watch the Digital City live every Friday at 3pm EST on CNET Live! >>Subscribe to Digital City on iTunes &… Read more

The hot trend of 2009 has to be augmented reality, particularly with all the impressive tech demos and futuristic games currently in development across the world.

On the iPhone in particular, several companies have promised Twittering, search, and other navigation using layers of real-time data overlaid onto live video from the iPhone's camera. Imagine a heads-up display on reality itself, and that's what augmented reality is promising.

Apple has been onboard with these developments, promising that the upcoming OS 3.1 will provide full compatibility for AR apps. But it turns out we don't need to wait … Read more

Yelp has been pushing hard to make its presence on smartphones known. In the last seven days, it has released a major upgrade to its iPhone application and has debuted native versions of Yelp for BlackBerry and the Palm Pre (Palm WebOS.)

Yelp 1.0 for Palm Pre and Yelp 1.0 for BlackBerry are much more basic than their iPhone kin is. According to Yelp, this is a conscious decision to get the core features out there and usable. And, although not much to look at (on the BlackBerry Bold, anyway,) the apps retain their utility. We put the … Read more

Yelp's first version for BlackBerry is a basic first stab to get Yelp.com's core review-reading features on BlackBerry phones. The three-panel start screen lets you browse or search for listings, or access your recent searches. Eye-pleasing it is not, but it did successfully help us find a lunch spot, map it using Bing (movable) maps, and scan reviews for recommended entrees.

Yelp 1.0 for BlackBerry is read-only, with limited interaction from users. There's no way to write reviews, rate others' reviews, or e-mail a listing to a friend. However, the application is undoubtedly straightforward and … Read more

Yelp's first version for Palm WebOS dresses Yelp.com's core review-reading features in a stylish interface. An eye-catching search bar tops the home screen, followed by browsable categories that include nearby locations and deals. You can filter results, map a location, click to call, save a business listing to the address book, and send listing information to a friend. Yelp is read-only on the Pre, with limited interaction from users. The biggest usability error we noticed on the Pre was having to scroll to the very end of a record to access the Web site link. It would … Read more

The original Yelp for iPhone was a skeleton of its online self when it first debuted. Since then, Yelp has been layering on the muscle. The improvements in Yelp for iPhone 3.0 plump the app even more, bringing both important functionality from the Web version and some mobile-friendly enhancements.

Deal-seekers will notice a new category in the Nearby search screen for sales and other offers, listing happy hour deals, coupons, an even specials just for Yelpers. (Ooh, free beverages at the 4.5-star Creperie Saint Germain!) This makes a lot of sense in a mobile app, and could help … Read more