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AroundMe for iPhone

What is it?

AroundMe helps you find contact information for nearby (deep breath) Apple retail stores, banks, bars, coffee, gas stations, hospitals, hotels, movie theaters, sight seeing locations, parking, pharmacies, pubs, restaurants, supermarkets, taxis, and theaters. By providing addresses, maps, directions, and phone numbers, AroundMe is another one of those applications that help you never feel lost, wherever you may be.

How much does it cost?

Free.

Who is it good for?

People who love to explore new places or heavy travelers. Anyone who is on the go and doesn’t feel the need to frequent the same places, but feels the need to frequent the closest places. Bar hoppers (for the taxi finder) and people with bad senses of direction who forget how to get places that are really close to them. And of course, anyone looking to get to know their local area a little better.

Summary

AroundMe is another one of those simple applications that works. It’s in direct competition with an application like Yelp, amongst others, because of its focus on local business near you. However, AroundMe is just about finding places, not reviews, photos, or additional information. It’s kind of like a more personal Yellow Pages (remember those?), just with maps and directions. We tested it in Los Angeles, but inevitably, there are going to be some cities where some information is missing (like Yelp) for the time being. It’s not going to be failproof, but it would still likely prove useful for most.

Keep it or Delete it?

Keep it.

While this application is significantly more “utility” than “fun,” one of the neat, random parts of the application is how it pulls nearby sightseeing spots from Wikipedia. This is clearly not going to replace Frommers or any travel guide for finding the best places to go in your local spots, but it was kind of a fun addition to see what places were listed (like the Playboy Mansion).

But really, you’re not going to be using AroundMe for sightseeing. The primary reason to use an application like this is to find everyday places - gas stations, restaurants, grocery stores, and drug stores - something that AroundMe seems to do pretty well (again, we tested in the Los Angeles area, which generally tests well with applications like these). Inevitably, AroundMe is going to be more effective in some cities than others, where the databases are more or less built out (a la Yelp), but it should still be helpful to users living in or traveling to major cities.

After allowing the AroundMe to use your location, you’re able to choose from a list of different business types, which pulls up a list of nearby businesses, along with their proximity to you. Simple, right?

What’s great about AroundMe is not the contact information (if we’re correct, none of us want to call to get directions to places these days, but you can one touch dial if you wanted to ask about a menu or hours) and distance from you, but the “Show Route” and “Show on Map” functionality that we’ve come to expect on all iPhone applications.

With a familiar Google Maps interface, you’re able to find a location on a map, along with seeing a suggested route. This could be incredibly helpful while you’re out because you’re able to see if you could potentially walk somewhere from your current location, instead of hopping in the car to do almost the same thing.

Essentially, AroundMe is about finding businesses and contacting businesses. And for that, as long as you’re in a well-supported area, it does a great job.

One of the limitations with the application is that it is really made for businesses “around you.” It would be great to have an “Around There” option where you could enter the zip code of another city that you’re going to in order to find out what’s around the hotel that you’re staying at or the restaurant that you’re going to. While that would be nice, the reality is that an application like this is so quick and simple that you could essentially figure it out on the fly without looking like a control freak who is obsessed with figuring out plans all the time.

Sure, it’s missing reviews, advice, or any sort of social aspect to the app, but it’s a utility and a good one at that. It’s actually a great tool for exploring your local area (who knew there were Dunkin Donuts locations in Southern California?), in addition to the obvious value when you’re traveling or in an unfamiliar city.