Fresh Apps - iPhone Apps & iPod Touch Apps.

Description

Throwing their hat into the ring of social media and mapping simultaneously is Localscope, billed as the social data powered GPS tool. What in the world does that even mean? Join me as I delve into the app’s innards and we’ll figure that out together, shall we?

So… What Is It?

The concept of the app is one that combines GPS and mapping software with major search engines and social media, giving you a seamless view across multiple services of the world immediately surrounding you. You can discover the area nearby, or search a term once and view it through the lens of the multiple search providers, and choose to view anything and everything on a list, a map, or through augmented-reality view.

How It Works

The first screen you see gives you a list of common search categories (coffee shop, bank, hotel…), plus a search box. Tap on something or enter a search term, and the view switches to a list nearby results. Tapping the button on the top right gives you the option to view results on a map or in augmented reality, while sliding along the icons at the bottom lets you view the same search through Google, Bing, Foursquare, Twitter, and Wikimapia.

That is basically the app in a nutshell, in terms of basic operation. If you’ve never used augmented reality, you basically hold the phone up and view the world through the camera lens, while the app overlays the search results on the picture.

Pros And Cons

The app is slick and well done, giving you the feeling that you’re using something professionally made and designed and well thought out.

There are lots of nice little touches too, like on every screen having the ability to drag a screen up from the bottom that shows your current location on a map: it’s so easy when browsing an area in map mode (or in AR mode, for that matter) to become adrift without knowing how to drag the map back to where you really are. It’s also nice to be able to easily see yourself without the clutter of little red search pins all over the place.

The augmented reality is done nicely, overlaying target icons that show you the locations of search results.  A target turning red indicates that you’re pointing right at it, and each target gives you a distance so you can estimate how far you need to stagger to reach the next pub.

There are a couple of quirky things that I think could be improved: you can only swipe to select different search engines or social media, but it would be nice if you could also tap the icon and jump to the results. To this day I still tap on Bing when doing a search before I remember to swipe and scroll the row of icons instead.

One other weird thing is when trying to tap a pin on a map to bring up information, you have to slightly hold the tap in order for anything to happen. It’s not a big deal, but it’s different from the standard “pin behavior” in the iOS Maps app, and again is something that you just forget that you need to do differently so you keep doing it wrong every time.

So Is It Good?

In a word yes, the app is a very good one. Everything about it is done well and with a sharp eye to detail (minus the two little annoyances mentioned above). I’m not sure I quite understand how to fully realize the potential of this app just yet, but I am sure that there are users out there who do realize the full potential of the app and have been dying for something like this, without even realizing it. For 99 cents why not try it out now and see if you’re that user?

Description

✱ ✱ ✱ In association with FreeAppADay, Localscope is FREE for a very limited time. Update coming soon, get your copy Now!! ✱ ✱ ✱

Localscope is your social data powered GPS app. Always know where you are and what’s around you with Localscope!

Search & discover places around you with information from multiple geo search engines & social networks: Google, Bing, Foursquare, Twitter, Wikimapia.

Browse your search results in an amazingly intuitive list view with realtime direction pointers and distance meters. Lay them out on the map or look through the state of the art augmented reality view to spot the results in the real world. Map and get directions to your results, call them directly or store them to your address book.

Share your findings with your friends using SMS, email, Facebook or Twitter.

WHAT OTHERS SAY:

✱ UI is slick and friendly, with a smart use of pulling and swiping
- Kathryn Swartz, Appolicious

✱ Localscope puts local services at your fingertips
- David Chartier, Macworld

✱ Get to know whats around you with Localscope
- Christine Chan, AppAdvice

✱ Discover the entire world around you with Localscope
- Jeff Cormier, TheNextWeb

FEATURES:

✔ Works worldwide – Explore your location wherever you are

✔ Find places around you using Google, Bing, Foursquare, Twitter, and Wikimapia, side-by-side without even retyping your query

✔ Lookup your recent and favorite search phrases or browse everything nearby in a tap

✔ Not restricted to your neighborhood – Discover places around an address in your contacts or any place in the world

✔ Consume search results in 3 uniquely useful views: List, Map and Augmented Reality

✔ Call, open maps for directions or create contacts from the results in a tap

✔ 3 dimensional compass engine, gives real time location updates with distance and direction meters that always point to the right directions no matter how you hold your phone


✔ Switch between miles / yards (US) and kilometers / meters (Metric) easily

✔ Integrates with Navigon MobileNavigator to get turn by turn directions to a search result

Cynapse is committed to constant improvement of Localscope. We value your feedback greatly so drop us a note and let us know what you think.

► Video Demo by DailyAppShow.com

✱ USER REVIEWS ✱
“ I’ve used AroundMe exclusively since it was released but Localscope is on a different level. It’s UI is more refined and there are more sources to reference which means there’s more useful information presented for each location. I highly recommend it! ”

“ The best Aroundme type app on the AppStore, eg found all the banks in my town, something no other app off this type has done. All wrapped up in a beautiful user interface. ”