Tag: UrbanSpoon

New Urbanspoon iPhone App Goes Beyond Slot Machine Feature

Urbanspoon has completely redone its iPhone app. While it still features its signature slot machine-like shaking feature, it goes far beyond that now, potentially making it more competitive with other apps people use to find places to eat. The new app lets users filter restaurant info by their own needs, with a more photo-rich interface.

“We know that users are faced with review overload when it comes to deciding where to eat, and are often forced to choose a restaurant based on what is important to others, rather than their own preferences,” Urbanspoon Marketing Director Conrad Saam tells WebProNews.

“The Urbanspoon app update brings personalization to the restaurant discovery process–helping users access information that personally resonates with them, so they can choose the perfect restaurant for their needs,” Saam tells us. “The new visual Urbanspoon app enables users to get a quick snapshot of the top restaurants as selected by the James Beard Foundation, Eater, and Village Voice, as well as filter based on individual preferences such as price, location, cuisine, tables available tonight, and short form user feedback.”

New features include: filters for personalization, editorially selected lists, a mapping feature, a wish list feature, and of course the new user interface itself.

The app is available in the iTunes store. No word on when the Android version will get the upgrade.

Here are a few screen caps:

March 28, 2012
Urbanspoon Gets More Social with “Dineline”

As Chris Crum reported last week, popular mobile app Urbanspoon updated and added a new feature. The new feature is called Dineline, and it allows users to record their dining experiences.

“It’s a way for people who love to eat out, who love restaurants, to record their dining history everyday,” said Kara Nortman, the Senior Vice President of Urbanspoon.

As Nortman explained, the app helps those people that are always trying to remember the name of a restaurant or what food they ordered at a particular place.

The Dineline feature allows users to check-in to a particular place and document any information or pictures that they want to remember from it. Nortman says it creates a “dining diary.”

What’s interesting is that Dineline also allows users to share this diary with others, which makes Urbanspoon a much more social experience. The app has always encouraged social interactions with its strong emphasis on restaurant “Likes” and reviews, and, according to Nortman, Dineline is just an “additional way to make the experience social” and to engage people through dining.

Urbanspoon currently allows users to share their experiences with others on Twitter, and Nortman indicated that a Facebook integration would likely take place in the near future.

At this point, the updated Urbanspoon is available on the Web and on the iOS platform. However, Nortman did tell us that we could expect an Android app soon.

Nortman also advised restaurants to take advantage of services such as Urbanspoon, Yelp, and Citysearch. She told us that consumers visit these sites and expect to find information on restaurants. For this reason, she said that restaurants should, at the very least, claim their profile pages on these sites to make sure they are being represented accurately. From there, she suggested that they add content to their page and utilize social channels.

December 20, 2011
Urbanspoon Update Includes New “Dineline” Feature

Urbanspoon, the popular mobile app for restaurant discovery is getting a new “personal dining timeline” feature called Dineline.

“As you know, Urbanspoon has always been a great way for you to find your next favorite restaurant,” a spokesperson for Ubranspoon tells WebProNews. “Now, we’ll help you remember all of the places you’ve eaten — the epicurean adventures, the everyday neighborhood lunches, and even the terrible dives.”

“Dineline lets you quickly and easily record your dining history,” she explains. “You can add as much or as little information as you want. You can keep it as simple as noting the time and place. Or you can capture what you ate, take pictures, and leave notes. Your information stays private unless you choose to share it.”

“Dineline’s more than a way to help you remember where you’re eating,” she continues. “We’ll also compile interesting statistics for you. What’s your favorite cuisine? Your most popular restaurant this month? Dineline can show you this and more.”

For now, it’s only available on the iPhone version, which can be updated/downloaded from the Apple App Store. No word yet on the Android version.

December 12, 2011
Urbanspoon Adds Zagat Reviews

Urbanspoon has signed a deal with Zagat that will see over 25,000 Zagat reviews featured prominently on Urbanspoon.

Urbanspoon tells WebProNews, “”We’re excited to be working with Zagat – the pinnacle of high end restaurant reviews. Providing diners with easy access to Zagat reviews directly on their smartphones will make it even easier to select the best dining options.”

“Our goal at Urbanspoon is to give users the most accurate, in-depth look at local restaurants to help inform their decision about what new spots to try and which favorites to keep on their go-to list,” said Urbanspoon GM Kara Nortman. “Bringing in content from Zagat, arguably the most famous name in restaurant reviews, adds another layer of trusted insight to help people find the best restaurants in their cities.”

Zagat’s ratings and recommendations for restaurants will appear alongside Urbanspoon’s aggregated content. Users will be able to access the reviews along with general business info, photos and related blog posts.

August 31, 2011
The iPad Debut Of UrbanSpoon

According to Techcrunch, app store veteran, UrbanSpoon, has officially launched their iPad app. I agree with them in that the iPad app will not be useful for quick dinner solutions (like it is when firing up the app on an iPhone), however the iPad app will be useful for longer, more thoughtful decisions. Details of the UrbanSpoon iPad app below:

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April 28, 2010