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Foursquare puts search first in update of iOS app

The check-in app continues to ramp up its search functions in its quest to take down Yelp.

Donna Tam Staff Writer / News
Donna Tam covers Amazon and other fun stuff for CNET News. She is a San Francisco native who enjoys feasting, merrymaking, checking her Gmail and reading her Kindle.
Donna Tam
2 min read
Click to enlarge. Foursquare

Holding true to its mission to take down Yelp, Foursquare makes search a priority in the latest update to its iOS app.

Foursquare 6.0 takes the 3.5 billion check-ins made through the service and uses them to beef up its "Explore" function. The new iOS app -- following in the footsteps of Foursquare's recent update to its Android app -- shows personalized recommendations, based on past check-ins, and your friends' check-ins right off the bat. There's also a full search bar on top, while the check-in button moves to the bottom of the screen.

The app shows what's trending in the area, in real time, and identifies the popular places people who have checked in to your location went afterward. For example, if you check in from a movie theater, Foursquare will tell you the dinner spot most people tend to go to after their movie.

The app will also show you top meal recommendations during lunchtime or show which of your To-Do List places are nearby. If you're in a city you visit a lot, the app will let you know what new places just opened up, or if you're in a place for the first time, the app will show the top check-ins.

Foursquare has ramped up its investment in search in the last year. In addition to adding the search nuances to its Android app recently, the company made search the main attraction on its Web site in October.

It's all part of Foursquare's drive to be the go-to recommendations source and take Yelp out of the running. Yelp in turn has tried to take a page out of the Foursquare book, adding check-ins and highlighting social connections as part of its recommendations service.