To Check.in or to Footfeed?
Tired of constantly switching between applications and checking into every geo-location service out there? Some people use Foursquare others use Gowalla and a few others use different services out there as well. It gets a bit difficult to let your friends know where you are when they do not all use the same service. So Check.in answered our woes with the “One check in to rule them all”. Granting the ability to check in to all your geo-location apps without the hassle of switching between every application. Now Check.in does exactly what it says it does and does it well. However, the social aspect of this application is completely stripped out. With Check.in you simply check in and broadcast your whereabouts and your done. So if you wanted to know where your friends are, you still need to open each application and see where everyone is at.
I’ve been using Check.in for some time now and before the iOS 4 update on the iPhone, about half a page was taken up by geo-location services. Constantly needing to open them up and check where everyone is. Even lumping all the applications into one folder is still getting a bit old. As they say, you don’t always need to be first. In comes Footfeed. Footfeed is an aggregator of different web services that will let you check in everywhere all at once similar to Check.in.
Footfeed is more then just an aggregator to check in but also allows you to keep track of all your friends no matter what service they might be using. Keeping the social aspect and checking in functionality all in one application is a huge plus for me. I’ve recently begun using the Footfeed application and can already see how much time this is going to save me.
The Pro’s and Con’s
Pro’s of using Check.in:
- Multiple checkin to geo-location services
- Built on HTML 5. If you have an iPhone or an Android you are still able to use Check.in
Con’s of using Check.in:
- Not able to view friends whereabouts
Pro’s of using Footfeed:
- Multiple check in to geo-location services
- Able to view friends Whereabouts
- View stats of Check in on every location based service
- View your profile with latest activity
- Bookmark locations for ease of check in
Con’s of using Footfeed:
- Currently only available for iPhone
The UI on Footfeed is really well done. Simple and intuitive is always the best way to go. When first opening the application you are met with all the essentials. Check in History, My Favorite Places, Friends Check Ins, Check In Now, and shows you what services you are connected to. The services currently available on Footfeed are Foursquare, Brightkite, Gowalla and Facebook. Yes Facebook, something that all universal check in applications will have to take into consideration from this point on.
I’m really looking forward to using Footfeed and seeing their growth. For those with Android devices your choice is simple. iPhone users will either go one way or the other. If you use Check.in I definitely recommend giving Footfeed a try. Let us know what you think about the application in the comments below
