The Places theme for slideshows works best if you have traveled several different places and if your travel photos have been labeled by location. The latest versions of the iPhone and some other contemporary cameras now include a geotagging feature that embeds location coordinates for each of the photos you take.

Pro image applications like Aperture will show you the geotag info, which consists latitude, longitude, etc.

But luckily iPhoto will translate that info into a recognizable name like Coney Island, London, or Islands of Adventure. But even if your travel photos are not tagged, you can manually label them using iPhoto’s Places feature.

Labeling Photos

When you select a photo and then click on the Info button in the iPhoto menu bar, the Places tool will show geotag info for that photo. If your photos are not geotagged, you can simply select a collection of travel photos and add the information yourself, similar to how you add keywords to your images.

As you type the location name, iPhoto will list possible locations to choose from. It may even list popular resorts or tourist spots. After all your travel photos are labeled, you can click on Places in the Albums panel, and you will get a map with red pens dropped on places you have taken photos.

Organizing Travel Photos

If you have organized your travel photos into regular or smart albums, all need to do is create a new album, name it the title you want your slideshow to be (such as “Where We’ve Been”) and add to it selections from your travel photos. Sort the collected photos by date so that they are kept together in the album.

Create Slideshow

Now with your travel album selected, click the Create button in the toolbar and select Slideshow. iPhoto will set up a separate folder of your selected photos. Next, click the Themes button and select the Places theme.

iPhoto will process your photos and create location titles for each set of your travel photos. A titles effect will appear on a moving map, with the first photo of each section representing the location.

If the titles are not to your liking, no problem, you can actually edit them, and be specific as you like about the location. As with other slideshow themes, you can also move photos around and delete the ones that don’t fit. You can also go back to your travel photo albums and add more images to the slideshow folder. If your images are dated correctly, iPhoto should place added photos in the appropriate section. If not, simply move them to where they’re supposed to be.

If you don’t like the default theme music for your slideshow, simply change it. You can adjust other settings for your slideshow. However, the Places theme does not show all your photos one at a time. This theme will present 1-4 photos at time. You don’t have much control over this, except for the order they appear.

The Presentation

When you click the Play button, iPhoto presents graphic travel effect that moves across the map to the places where you took photos. As with other slideshows, you can export your project to show it off on a website, your mobile device, or big screen TV.

Let us know what you think of this slideshow project, and similar ones you’ve used. For other ideas about iPhoto, check out our articles here.

The increased connectivity that is afforded by mobile phones and tablets has a distinct dark side – many of the apps and games that we use can reveal our location, one way or another. This is done explicitly – think of the “check in” function on Facebook – or done in a more underhand manner, and if used unchecked can cause serious personal safety and privacy issues.

How does this happen? It’s all thanks to localization, the name given to the way in which mobile phones collect and share data about your location to the apps that you have installed.

Localization – Friend Or Foe?

Included as a feature on all of the currently used mobile phone and tablet platforms, localization doesn’t just rely on GPS to provide your location to an inquisitive app.

Along with GPS, localization can determine your location by triangulating your position from mobile phone towers and even wireless hotspots that you might be connected to. During 2011 we saw how this information can be used by the mobile phone operating system to record your position, and similarly apps use the data to provide a richer mobile experience.

Only apps that have previously been assigned permission can utilize the data. That’s right, the apps have permission. Assuming you are downloading apps from the official store for your mobile device, they will be enjoying your consent to share details of your current location to services such as FourSquare or Google Maps. Permission is generally granted when installing the app, but it might also be given when the software is run for the first time.

The Effects of Disabling Localization

You can of course disable localization, particularly if you have concerns about the way in which the information is being used or shared. Twitter in particular can prove troublesome if you have it configured to share your current location with every Tweet that you send.

The most important thing is to be aware of the risks and advantages that localization can bring to the day-to-day use of your chosen mobile device. For instance, using the Facebook check-in feature can help you to meet up with friends, family or colleagues at a particular location just as easily as it can reveal your whereabouts to stalkers (obviously this can only occur if your Facebook profile isn’t private). On the other hand a game or map tool is unlikely to share your location with just anyone (although Google Latitude will divulge your whereabouts).

Control the Information Your Cell Phone Shares

Taking control of the data that is shared by apps means spending a few moments with your mobile phone and checking the current localization settings. You can use the guides below to help – notice how they are all quite similar.

Android

Altering your Android’s settings so that localization information is not collected is relatively easy. Open Menu > Settings > Location & security and clear the Use wireless networks and Use GPS satellites options under My Location.

BlackBerry

The process can differ between BlackBerry OS versions, but this is generally made possible by opening Options > Advanced Options > GPS and altering the Location Aiding setting to Disabled.

iOS

On iPhone, open the Home screen and find Settings. From here, select Location Services and switch to Off. For disabling localization for specific apps, these are listed on the same screen and can be configured as required.

Windows Phone

On Windows Phone, open Settings > Location to disable all localization data sharing; alternatively if you only wish to disable a specific app from sharing data collected from GPS or cellular triangulation, go to Settings > Applications and find the app in question, flicking the Use my location switch to disable.  If the app you’re looking for is not listed, open it as normal and use the app’s own settings menu.

Conclusion

There are many reasons why you might wish to keep your whereabouts under wraps, depending on who you are, where you live, what your career is, etc. The tips above work for each of the mobile platforms listed and can be used to your advantage, but remember that localization services are provided to make life easier for you.

Thankfully, disabling localization isn’t irreversible, so if you decide at a later date that you would like to take advantage of this functionality simply reverse the steps!

Image Credit: Nachoman-au, http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Telstra_Mobile_Phone_Tower.jpg

If you don’t have a direct connection to the manager, your opinion often might go overlooked. Maybe it wasn’t even that good of an idea to begin with, but how are we to know?

In this article, I’m going to show you a location-based iPhone application that allows you to create opinion poll questions around the various places you visit. That way, anyone who visits your spot can vote on your questions and give you instant feedback on whether or not they agree with you. So when it comes to implementing changes at your favorite local bar, you’ll come ready with multiple opinions to support your claim, rather than just your own.

What is VoteSpot?

VoteSpot is the best way to ask a question at a specific location and get instant feedback in the form of poll results from your friends. It’s the only free iPhone location-based app where you can create polls–called ‘Vote Spots’–for others to vote on and share.

The first thing you need to do in order to start creating ‘Vote Spots’ at your favorite places is to download and install the app on your iPhone.

Once installed, run the app and you will be asked to register with your Facebook or Twitter account to get started. You’ll be taken away from the app temporarily to begin the familiar process of granting VoteSpot permission to access your Facebook or Twitter account.

After you’re back into the app, you’ll see a map of the Vote Spots near you. You will notice three buttons at the bottom of the screen – one for Map, which you’re currently viewing, one for Profile, and one for Vote Spot. If you check out spots near you, you can vote on any that are attached to places you’re familiar with.

Visiting your profile page will allow you to see your score, the number of spots you’ve visited, and the number of votes you’ve cast at those spots.

If you visit the Vote Spot page, you can view spots near you broken down into categories. Categories include All, Food, Nightlife, Arts & Entertainment, Sport, Shop, College & University, and Travel Spot.

When you share a Vote Spot that you’ve created, a mini site featuring your question, location with map, and a graph that shows users’ votes will be created and shared with your Facebook and/or Twitter friends.

Conclusion

VoteSpot is another great location-based application to add to your iPhone’s arsenal. I think having the ability to poll users about issues you’re experiencing at your favorite spots can help you provide instant feedback to the owners of those spots, which could even help you improve your experience there overall.

Other geo-location apps I’ve covered recently include Ness, Roamz, and HipGeo. If you’re into geo apps like I am, I definitely suggest you check them out.

What do you think of VoteSpot? What will you use it for?

Geosense is a sensor that can use this technology and feed the data into location-aware applications.

Setting Up Geosense

After installing the sensor, you need to enable Geosense. Go to your > Windows Start menu, search for > location, and select > Location and Other Sensors from the results listed under > Control Panel.

Check the box next to > Geosense Location Sensor and click > Apply to enable Geosense.

To view more information about the Geosense Location Sensor, change its description, change who can access the sensor, and to uninstall Geosense, click on > Geosense Location Sensor.

Now that the sensor is enabled, you can use it with location-aware applications.

Google Maps

To demonstrate the functionality of Geosense, its developers have created a Google Maps demo client, which you can download from the Geosense homepage or through this link (ZIP file). The app reveals your current location on a Google map and allows you to quickly locate facilities in your area.

In my tests, the accuracy was so good that the street address displayed in the Google Maps sidebar diverted only by meters, i.e. it calculated that I was sitting in the house next door.

This location-sensing Google Maps client can be very useful for travelers. When stranded in a foreign city, not knowing your current street address, all you have to do is connect to the Internet, launch the client, and it will tell you right where you are. You can then use the Google Maps > Search nearby feature to look for restaurants, bars, or other public facilities in the area.

We have written many interesting articles about Google Maps, check out some of them here:

• How Does Google Maps Work? [Technology Explained]
• 5 Tips To Perform A Smarter & Faster Google Map Search
• 10 Impressive Spots On Earth You Can See With Google Maps Satellite View
• 3 Awesome Historical Google Maps Mashups
• How to Use Google Maps for Your Business
• How To Create Shared Collaborative Google Maps

Weather Gadget

The Windows 7 Weather gadget for your desktop is a location-aware application. To add it to your desktop, search for > gadget in your Windows Start menu and select > Desktop Gadget Gallery from the results under > Programs.

When the Gadget Gallery has opened, double-click the > Weather gadget and it will load on your desktop.

If it works, you will see a blue WiFi signal next to your location, which indicates that your location is detected. If it does not work, this little icon will be marked with a red cross and it will probably display the default city, which is Seattle, Washington.

More cool Windows 7 desktop gadgets can be found in these articles:

• Top 7 Coolest Windows 7 Desktop Gadgets You Have To Use
• The 7 Best Windows 7 Gadgets
• 7 MORE Windows 7 Gadgets To Make Your Life Easier
• 7 Must-Have Google Desktop Gadgets for Productivity

Another application that supports Geosense is MahTweets, a social network client for Twitter, Facebook, and FourSquare, including multiple accounts for each. Since its release in early March 2011, however, not much has happened and it seems like it has not been developed further. Therefore I will not explore this application further.

Unfortunately, although the Windows Sensor and Location platform and the relevant technology have been around for several years, there are very few location-aware applications for Windows 7. Geosense hopes to “kickstart a pool of cool location-based or location-enhanced applications on Windows 7.” Until further applications are available, the tool remains a fun demonstration of how accurate free location sensing technologies are these days.

If you are concerned about your privacy and don’t want to share your location under any circumstances, be sure to check out this article: How To Disable Or Fake Your Location In Firefox, Internet Explorer & Chrome.

What do you think of this technology? Do you use location sensing on your mobile devices and would you like to see more location-aware applications for Windows?  Or does this kind of thing scare you with its privacy implications?

Image credits: Tobias Machhaus

Well, geo-location apps sure help. You can use these types of applications to check in wherever you’re at and tag things to share with your friends, filling them in on where you’ve been and giving them a brief inside look at what made it so interesting. Most location-based apps focus on letting you share a photo along with your location at the places you visit, but what if they were to take it a step further?

In this article, I’m going to show you the one geo-location app that allows you to attach audio and video to your check-ins, which should help give you (and your friends) some added value around every check-in that you make from here on out.

What Is Clingle?

Clingle is a geo-location app that incorporates multimedia into your check-ins. Like other location-based applications, Clingle utilizes the GPS utility of your mobile device to help you interact with others and share information about the interesting things you see and places you visit.

Clingle makes capturing and sharing moments a rich experience. When you’re out visiting an area, you can use the app to take live video, explore popular places around you, start conversations, or leave messages for friends at specific locations. And if you like, you can also leave them a video, photo, or even audio to further engage them.

What differentiates Clingle from other check-in apps is the inclusion of video into check-ins. One of the things I love about apps like Foursquare and Oink is the ability to add photos to check-ins, which really add to the experience and help users show off a little bit about the places they’re visiting, activities they’re doing, and things they’re seeing. According to Clingle, “It’s the best way to check-in ever!”

The other cool feature is being able to leave messages – called Clings – at places for your friends. These can be in the form of a surprise audio, video, or picture message that friends would then have to unlock when they visit a particular place. Regardless of the type of Cling you leave for your friends, it should be a nice surprise for them once they unlock it.

You can also start a private group conversation with your friends, which you can use to do anything from planning a future trip with them to sharing a song that comes to mind whenever you visit a specific place. iTunes audio can be used as Clings too, which really makes sharing audio easier.

Currently, Clingle works best for users located in the US, UK, India, and Singapore, but you’ll soon be able to use it everywhere. It’s available for iPhone and Android, with support for other devices coming soon as well.

What do you think of Clingle? Will you be adding video to your check-ins?

Two new iPhone apps have emerged to provide their own unique approach for rating and recommending stuff we like and don’t like. Unlike Yelp, the new Oink is set up for users to not only rate places but also the items inside those places. Kinetik, on the other hand, is a Twitter-supported app for recommending apps you like to your social network followers.

How the Oink Social Network Recommendation System Works

Oink is a pretty well-designed iOS app that invites you to rate and comment on products and services in places and businesses you have visited. The main menu of this app starts you off with popular places near your current location.

You can of course search for particular items and businesses within a specified location radius, but unless someone has used Oink to rate an item you’re looking for, the app may not be of much use in this area. You will probably have better luck using the Discover menu which displays items and businesses that have already been rated by Oink users.

You can discover items from 1 mile to 100 miles of your location. Or if you’re a world traveler, you can request a global search of rated items. A 5 mile discovery in my area revealed items ranging from Wonton with BBQ pork and egg noodles, to free tire rotation at America’s Tire Company.

Oink users are encouraged to photograph and tag the items they rate and review.

You can also use your personal contacts, and Twitter and Facebook connections to see who else is using Oink. There is also a list of suggested users to follow consisting of popular bloggers, writers, developers, and social media experts.

The best way to get the most out of Oink is to dive in and rate stuff you are using. Items are not limited to places you visit. Many users comment on computer software, games, and entertainment shows. In fact, the success of Oink will depend upon large and wide user activity.

Rating Apps With Kinetik

Kinetik is similar to Oink, but has narrowed its niche to recommending iOS apps. Although there are a plethora of iTunes Store apps to choose from, sometimes our friends and social networking followers can recommend apps we’ve never heard of.

Kinetik works in connection with Twitter to see what apps your contacts and followers are recommending. There is also a updating list of “Trending” apps, as well as apps listed by categories – including finance, productivity, navigation, news, games, travel, and utilities.

Sharing apps you recommend is similar to posting tweets on Twitter. You simply do a search for your app and then write a 140 word or less comment or review about the selected program. You can post your recommendation on both your Twitter and Facebook account, or simply post it on Kinetik.

You can discover contacts on Kinetik, which includes a list of users who share your same interests, or people who are the most active users of the app.

If you come across an app you like, Kinetik can link you to it in the iTunes store.

What makes Kinetik somewhat different from the user ratings and comments in the iTunes Store is that Kinetik users are sharing and recommending apps they like. So depending on who your followers are, you may very well discover some useful programs for your iOS devices.

I should add though that some users have complained that Kinetik doesn’t provide a way to edit reviews you post on your activities list. I experienced this problem when I tried to post my first review. I accidentally tapped the share button before I had a chance to finish writing my comment. There is no way to delete your comment once its posted.

Let us know what you think of Oink and Kinetik, and similar apps you use for rating and recommending stuff you like.

But it hasn’t been able to satisfy a lot of people. You can see them displaying their (free) wares on the Chrome Web Store and telling Google Maps engineers what the online mapping application is missing.

Thanks to these cool Chrome extensions that enhance Google Maps, we aren’t missing much. Fire up the Chrome browser, type in an address, and let these six Google Maps extensions tell you a lot more than the route on Google Maps.

Mini Maps

Mini Maps is a handy extension to install because it helps you stay on the same webpage while getting a location fix on an address. Even more handily, it gives you nearby places of interest like restaurants, cafes, ATMs, and others. Mini Maps also remembers your last ten searched locations for the current browsing session. Once you have pinpointed a location, you can also quickly get directions from any other point on the map. (Chrome Web Store Link)

Carbon Footprint for Google Maps

Are you eco-conscious? You should be, if you are driving a gas-guzzling four wheeler. Reduce your carbon footprint by finding out the shortest distance between two points with the help of this extension. This extension is interesting because it automatically gives you not only the total drivable route on Google Maps, but also figures out the total CO2 emission and the number of trees you need to plant to offset the carbon emissions. Hover over the figure. To improve the accuracy of the CO2 calculations, remember to set up the rate of emissions of your car. (Chrome Web Store Link)

Scribble Maps

We have given this very useful extension a mention in our directory. This is definitely a must have extension if you regularly use and share maps. Scribble Maps enhances Google Maps by allowing you to draw free-flowing lines on the map interface. You can also take advantage of nearly 2000 different markers (icons and text) to better illustrate a map.

The Google Chrome map application is full-featured. You can export the map file to Google Earth or save it locally in KML/GPX/JPG formats. You can even create 3D Jpegs. After you overlay images and place markers, you can easily share it with friends. Scribble Maps has been well-reviewed as this Chrome map application really takes Google Maps forward. (Chrome Web Store Link)

Another similar extension you can try out is My Map Plus.

QR Maps

This extension combines the usefulness of QR Codes with Google Maps and smartphones. Once installed, a button will appear in the top-right corner of Google Maps next to the link button. Clicking on this will display a QR code that you can scan with your phone and get the location or directions on the map into your smartphone. Of course, you need a QR Code capable smartphone for the job. (Chrome Web Store Link)

GEO+

View a photo slideshow of a neighborhood plotted on a Google Map. Using this Chrome Map application, you get also get the usual details like directions from a given point at any destination along with the duration of the trip. It displays two tabs – Map and Photos. To make this extension work, restart the Chrome browser after installing the extension. (Chrome Web Store Link)

Map Jumper

To really get to that spot on Earth, you might need to use multiple online mapping services. Map Jumper is a Google Chrome map extension that helps you easily jump from one online mapping service to another. The mapping extension covers the jump from Gowalla, Foursquare, OpenStreetMap, Google Picasa, and Google Maps, Wikimapia to Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, Wikimapia, and MapQuest Open. Map Jumper basically takes the coordinates from one map service and opens it in another service in a separate tab. (Chrome Web Store Link)

Maps by themselves have always been excellent sources of information. With these Google Chrome extensions, Google Maps tells us a lot more. What do you think? Which is the most useful extension among the six above that you would tag as a necessary install?

With Foursquare events, users can be more specific about what they’re doing while they’re in a given location. For instance, if you’re at a popular concert venue you can say which concert you’re seeing; or if you’re at the movies you can let people know which movie you’re at. This gets to the heart of our personalities and tastes, allowing friends to connect more over mutual experiences. That, and it’s fun!

Cool Things To Do With Foursquare

So, if you’ve not played with Foursquare before (or for a while), you might want to refresh your knowledge of the Foursquare check-in service and some of the cool things you can do with it, like using other apps in conjunction with Foursquare to enhance it, automatically syncing Foursquare photos to Flickr and sharing your favourite Foursquare venues using Scoville.

Old-School Foursquare Event Hacks

The basic way people have previously been checking into events via Fourquare is a two-part process. To begin with, you check into the venue as per usual. Then, you follow that up with a shout of what you’re seeing. For instance, check into your local cinema and then type in “Pirates of The Caribbean” to make it clear which movie you are at.

For major events, some people have gone a step further and created a new venue including the event name. For instance, instead of checking into “Botanic Park” while you’re at a festival you’d check into “Womadelaide at Botanic Park” to make it clear that you’re a part of the Womadelaide event there.

But both of these methods are user hacks to do something Foursquare never used to do – That is, to check into events.

Foursquare’s Event Listings

Foursquare itself will now be pulling in information on major events ahead of time to ensure the event is already listed before people start to check in. To bring in the large event details to their database, Foursquare have teamed up with MovieTickets.com for movies, ESPN for sports and Songkick for concerts. These events will be available for check-ins from a few hours before the event begins.

As for functionality, the events are just like venues and you can do the same things with them, such as adding photos, giving tips and adding the event to your to-do list. The only real difference is that they’re more specific and this means your friends know more about what you’ve been doing with your time. Your friends are now able to learn about your movie taste and music taste instead of just which cinema and concert venues you visit the most.

Have a go using Foursquare events with the Foursquare website, iPhone application or Android application. Will you check into events from now on?

The next day we saw the phone travelling back to her workplace in the early morning, and when she arrived she found the phone had been anonymously returned with no reward asked for.

This story has a happy ending of course, but Apple’s free Find My iPhone service is also able to deal with the less happy outcomes in a way that minimizes your risk for greater losses. Let’s look into the app and see how you can ‘MakeUseOf’ it when your phone is lost or stolen.

So What is Find My iPhone?

Find My iPhone has been a part of Apple’s Mobile.Me service for a while now, and is now upgraded and included in the standard, free iCloud account. You can read all about iCloud here. The most recent update means that Mac computers can also be tracked. Here’s my wife’s iPhone, in the process of being stolen (this isn’t their home address, this was on the way).

I must have it! How do I enable It?

1. Make sure you’ve signed up and enabled iCloud on your device. From Settings > iCloud you can sign up for, or if you’ve already got an account connected, scroll down and ensure Find My iPhone is enabled (by default it isn’t enabled).

2. Location service must also be enabled – from Settings > Location Services > On

3. Scroll down on the same screen to Find my iPhone at the bottom of the list and click through to enable it specifically there.

To set it up on your Mac, you need to have the latest OSX, iTunes and iCloud specific updates installed. There should then be a new iCloud control panel icon in your preferences screen.

What Can I do When My Phone Is Stolen:

Open up the Find my iPhone app from either any other iOS device (you need to download it from the app store first), or log on to icloud.com from a computer.

You should see a list of devices registered to your account, and location discovery will begin. Click on the device once it’s been located correctly.

You should now see it on a map, but clicking on the device, then the small blue “i” will open up the menu of actions you can take. There are 3 choices:

• Play Sound or Send Message: This allows you to send a quick “this message is lost/stolen” type message as well as sound an alarm which works even if the phone is in silent mode. Note, this is also a great way to find your phone at home!
• Remote Lock: This places the device into a locked mode exactly as if you had setup a regular lock screen before it was stolen. You choose the 4 digit code now, so make sure you don’t forget it.
• Remote Wipe: This is final and more drastic option – it will initiate a low level format of all your data, leaving it like a fresh iPhone straight from the factory. Be very careful when using this, as you will no longer be able to track, lock, or message this device if you use this option.

Your first move should be to lock the device and prevent any calls from being made. This isn’t going to stop anyone from reformatting the phone, but it will stop most thieves from getting at your data for now or making random expensive calls.

Second, follow the device via the GPS signal. If you’re the daring type, you could try chasing it down. It is probably best not to try anything crazy until you know it’s been stolen though, at which point calling the police with a residential address is definitely an option.

Next, send a message offering a reward and contact details.

At this point, you’re going to have to gamble. If it was indeed stolen, and the thief knows what they’re doing then your personal data is definitely at risk. Use remote wipe as a last option only if you’re confident you won’t get the device back.

Lastly, be sure to phone your mobile provider and lock out the SIM. This will prevent them making calls/texts and prevent any further expenses, but it’s not going to get your phone back.

It goes without saying that you should also call the police and get an incident or report number – you’ll need this to claim on insurance. Most contents insurance usually comes with the option to cover devices while they’re out of the house, so if you’re lucky then you can get a new phone.

A Solution for Android Users

Not wishing to exclude those inclined to the other mobile OS – Prey is a free service able to track up to 3 devices, and even has the ability to take photos of the thief using the laptop webcam or front camera. Sadly, Find My iPhone doesn’t let you do this, and I’m unable to find a similar app that does. The Prey page states they’re currently working on an iPhone version, but it’s been saying that for years. Looks like Android users have a one-up on us here!

I do recommend you enable some kind of service now as a precaution as you’ll never be able to do it when you’ll really need it. Find My iPhone is free, and if it saves you the $400 on a new phone, it’s more than worth it. Do you have any experience using Find My iPhone to get your phone back, or even a computer? Let us know in the comments, I’d love to hear how it worked out for you.

But with all of the apps and information we have floating around today, feeling like a local in a strange place should be fairly easy, shouldn’t it? With the tips people leave on Foursquare, the photos they post to Instagram, and the general comments they make on Facebook and Twitter, finding a place you would enjoy should be as easy as cake – and now it is.

What Is Roamz?

Roamz (directory app) is a location-based app that helps you find out what is happening around you. It uses information from your favorite networks like Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, and Instagram and delivers personalized content about the places, events, and activities that are relevant to you.

The more you use Roamz, the smarter it gets. Once it sees the types of places you like to go and the types of activities you like to do, results will become all the more accurate and personalized.

Also, while you’re out experiencing all of these “Roamz moments”, you can share them with your Facebook, Twitter, and Foursquare friends as well. And who knows, maybe they’ll be more inclined to join you while you’re out and about.

To view how the app’s makers have described their app, be sure to check out this short video:

Using Roamz

Once you install the Roamz app, you’ll be able to set it up to your liking. You can set the Roamz feed to display results near your current location, or select a custom location to view information about the places nearby.

Feeds are sorted based on distance from the place you choose, and contain photos and comments from other users who have been there.

You can also check out the Popular section, which displays shares by other users that are generating the most buzz. You can find interesting places without a Roamz account, but adding to the content will require a profile.

Roamz also lets you select your areas of interest to help improve results. There are ten categories in the Interests section, which you can opt to turn on or off, including College & Education, Shopping, Nightlife, Bars & Clubs, Restaurants & Food, etc.

When you want to share your thoughts about a place on Roamz, just hit the large Share button at the bottom-center of the app and you’ll be given the option of selecting the appropriate social channel for your content.

Conclusion

As many of you know, I’m really into geo-location applications for mobile devices. In my experience, I’ve found that mostly any app that acts to improve my experience when I visit a specific area is one that is worth checking out, and Roamz is one of those apps. More and more people are beginning to utilize geolocation apps in general, and we’re starting to see the next wave of companies coming along and using the data that’s being created for even more useful utilities.

What do you think of Roamz?  Do you know of any other alternatives, maybe also for the Android?