Official Foursquare App for Windows 8 Worth the Wait

If you want an example of an app developed to take full advantage of the Windows 8 interface, the newly released, official Foursquare app is it.

Yesterday, Microsoft announced that the app was available and provided the link, but it took a good 6 hours after their blog post announcement before the app actually showed up in the Windows Store. So I waited. Once the app had finally propagated I loaded it up and was immediately wowed. The app is beautifully constructed, making the best use of touch screen technology. I know some of you don't use Foursquare, worried about online location tracking, but, this could be the best app ever created for Windows 8.

The app brings many of the regular Foursquare features to Windows 8, including: local suggestions, trending places nearby, location search, directions and business hours, and shared photo viewing. You can also connect with friends and use their tips (or share your own) showing an establishment is a worthy visit (or not). Check-ins are quick and easy and the more you check-in and show your approval or disapproval for a place, the app will automatically tailor suggestions.

The Foursquare app is free, but requires a Foursquare account.

Of course, there are a couple annoyances, but not enough to remove the app. The first is that the app shows up as "4Sqr" in the list of running apps. Not a big deal, just interesting. The other is that Foursquare Labs seems to have stopped just short of a complete touchscreen experience. When you dig into a location there are pieces of the screen that should, in my opinion, be link capable. In the example below, it would be nice to view total people, a timeline for your check-ins, and etc.

Still, it's an amazing app, and if you use Foursquare and Windows 8, you'll want to dump any 3^rdparty app you've been using and swap it out for this one.

To get it, you can search the Windows Store for "Foursquare," or just use the link below.