The war for your handheld device
Posted by Staff (06/14/2014 @ 11:03 am)
With the news that Priceline is buying OpenTable for a whopping $2.6 billion in cash, Jim Cramer explains in the video below how this fits into the war for your handheld device. Apps like OpenTable with its huge user base are incredibly powerful, and for Priceline it fits in beautifully following last year’s acquisition of Kayak. Now the next obvious step when you’re booking travel is making restaurant reservations.
This consolidation is very interesting and we’ll see how companies like Google respond. Google owns Zagat.
Yelp Augments Your Reality
Posted by Jeff Morgan (08/29/2009 @ 7:51 pm)
Yelp updated its iPhone app this week and included one very cool easter egg. If you haven’t already, download the update, open your Yelp app, and shake your phone three times. You should get a message telling you that “Monocle” has been activated and can be accessed in the top-right corner of your screen.
So what is Monocle? It’s augmented reality for Yelp. Hitting the monocle button takes you to what looks like the camera application with a Yelp overlay. A compass in the top right corner displays local establishments with a Yelp presence. Rotate your phone to the right spot and you’ll see a little Yelp shortcut card with the name of the establishment. The card scales based on how far away you are, so the biggest cards are closest and the smallest the furthest away. It’s a neat feature, particularly if you’ve just moved somewhere new.
There is one problem, though – augmented reality apps weren’t meant to be released until iPhone OS 3.1. That’s what Apple asked of its developers, anyway. Personally, I appreciate Yelp’s noncompliance, but there are others who think it’s going to hurt the development community. What say you? Sound off in the comments.
Posted in: Apple, Apps, iPhone, News
Tags: ar apps, augmented reality, best iPhone apps, iphone os 3.1, os 3.1 release date, yelp, yelp augmented reality, yelp monocle, yelp.com
Sweet Site of the Week – yelp.com
Posted by Gary Fairchild (03/25/2009 @ 3:00 pm)
Sometimes it’s hard to sift through the millions of websites out there to find the fun, unusual, creative, and especially, the useful ones. And word of mouth can only take you so far. Well, leave it to Gadget Teaser to give you a hand in your search. Once a week, we’ll highlight one of our favorite sites that not everyone knows about. I like to think that we here at Gadget Teaser are performing a public service for you… the avid gadget blog reader the general public.

This week’s Sweet Site of the Week is: yelp.com
The real goal of the Sweet Site of the Week is to highlight sites others may not know about, or at least don’t know how useful they are. To my amazement, yelp actually fits in both categories. I’m sure there are several thousand people out there thinking, “How does someone not know about yelp?” I know, and I agree. It shocks me how often I bring up yelp to someone and they have no idea what I’m talking about. But more shocking are the people that know about it, and don’t use it to its potential.
Yelp is a simple site. It’s a free online warehouse of reviews on anything. From restaurants to real estate and from health and medical to nightlife, yelp has a review for it. The best part is, it is all user reviews. Not some nose-in-the-air critic or posh “expert.” It has reviews from you and me and everyone in between. And I use it all the time.
Traveling and looking for a good restaurant? Check out yelp. I have eaten at many great food establishments that I would have never found without yelp. For example, if you’re ever near Sacramento, check out Manderes. Or if you’re ever near Redding, CA, check out The Downtown Eatery and Libations. With 100% surety I can tell you that I would have never found either of these with yelp. And these restaurants are amazing.
Going to Vegas and looking for a great show? Yelp suggests Jersey Boys as the top show in town. In New York for the weekend? The Benjamin is the hotel with the best service. In Phoenix for the week. Check out The Wrigley Mansion Club for the best nightlife. The list goes on.
The best part about yelp is using it where you live. Find out what others think about all the different places in town. Or, better yet, create an account of your own and help everyone else out with your opinions.
And for the iPhone users out there, don’t forget to add the free yelp app. So much information with the tap of your finger.
So when it comes to usefulness, yelp tops my list. And that’s why it’s this week’s Sweet Site of the Week.