Foursquare recently stirred up the world of social check-ins by splitting its popular app into two parts — the original check-in functionality going to the new Swarm app, and the location discovery and information portion fully taking over the original app. Yes, it's confusing. Yes, it could have you reaching for the delete button, but could it also be for the better? Considering Foursquare is one of the only apps I use when traveling, the change made me both skeptical and nervous. Now that I have the new Foursquare in my pocket, will I remain loyal, or will I go running back to Yelp?

When I originally started using Foursquare several years ago, it was all about competing for mayorships and topping the leaderboards with check-in points. Mayors sometimes got special privileges such as a free drink while visiting, which greatly encouraged people to use the service. This allowed Foursquare to collect lots of user data that included tips, photos, and information about what you liked and didn't like.

Foursquare tips were easy to leave and lots of folks were leaving them. I never used Yelp because at the time, you couldn't actually post a tip or review unless you completed it from a desktop computer. This was not only inconvenient, but in my opinion severely limited information I found on many places. That was a deal breaker for me, so I committed myself to Foursquare.

Over time, the Foursquare service itself evolved into a place to find useful information instead of just a place to rack up check-in points. This led to Foursquare taking the emphasis off of points and mayorships and focusing instead on helping businesses gain exposure both through the eyes of their customers and through exclusive promotions, which allowed check-ins to stay constant.

I found a new appreciation for Foursquare while traveling abroad last year. Time and again I found myself skipping over all my other travel apps in favor of real life opinions of locals through Foursquare. I discovered more than I could have asked for and each time the recommendations were spot on. However, there were still tiny quirks and annoyances when it came to discovery, such as having to search for certain things over and over again instead of Foursquare just knowing that's what I wanted.

For example, there are certain kinds of foods that I prefer regularly. I drink more coffee than any one person should and am constantly on the hunt for great new local cafes and shops to try. While I could find these places with the old Foursquare, the new Foursquare makes it much easier. Since I can now tell Foursquare what my specific tastes are, I'm now getting served up places that I want to see without actually having to search for them, and that saves me time.

Another newly added feature is the ability to follow people. Before you could accept friend requests which then allowed someone to see all of your check-in and location data. Following is a bit different and can be done by anyone. They can then see your tips and information that you leave on places, but won't see every check-in you make unless you actually friend them through Swarm.

That means that I can follow people that have the same tastes as me, but I don't necessarily have to allow them to see where I am at all times. They can follow me in return and enjoy the same privacy, yet we both benefit from any tips and knowledge we share. While Foursquare will always feed in tips based on your tastes, it'll put priority on people you're actually following, which puts you in the driver's seat.

As you rate places within Foursquare, you're now asked a series of questions. Depending on how you rate things, Foursquare may serve up a couple of new tastes it thinks are a good match. Simply tap on them to add them to your profile. You can also manually search for tastes and add them so Foursquare starts including them immediately in recommendations.

One thing I really enjoyed from the old Foursquare app was the ability to add to lists and easily find and follow other people's lists. To me this was an easy way to create lists for cities around the world and then add great shops and restaurants I want to remember to visit. Sadly, the lists feature has been crippled in the new version of Foursquare.

While you can still find your lists under the saved section of your profile, you can no longer create lists and edit them on the go. I also can't find a way within the app to discover new lists I may want to follow. This is a huge disappointment for me since I relied heavily on lists to sort and organize points of interest. Now places I save just get lumped together under a generic saved section. Too bad I won't even remember what city they're in after long.

The Foursquare website seems to still have list functionality, but will that be taken away eventually? And if not, why should I be forced to a desktop computer in order to manage my lists and add to them? That completely defeats the purpose of me saving points of interest while on the go. And isn't that the point of Foursquare, to get out and explore instead of sitting behind a computer screen?

In my initial review of Swarm, I felt like I understood the direction that Foursquare was heading in. Now that the newly revamped version of Foursquare is available, I'm not so sure. There's still a lot of bits and pieces in the current Foursquare app that are confusing to me — such as the check-in tab. Here sits a pointless tab that serves no purpose but to route me to the Swarm app when I try checking in somewhere. Why not just put a check-in button on every location's info page, or allow it to hover as it did before, and only then automatically route me to Swarm?

I would have rather had a dedicated lists tab fill that space. Not only would this give me a way to quickly get back to places I've saved previously, it also gives Foursquare a unique opportunity to present me with featured lists I may like. That's a huge missed opportunity for promotion, and that's in no one's best interest.

There are also bits and pieces of the Swarm app that are irritating, such as tagging people. Their name simply shows up in my check-in where I then have to include them in a sentence. Wait, what? Just let me tag them with me and take care of the rest like it was in the old Foursquare app. It's clumsy, unintuitive, and awkward.

All the tools are there for the new version of Foursquare to be really great, but when it comes to execution and fitting the pieces together, both Foursquare and Swarm miss the mark. If you want me to use two separate apps, you have to show me why both of those apps are valuable to me.

Right now Swarm serves little purpose to me other than having a record of my check-ins. None of my friends have yet to use the meet up feature or send me a message. There are also little flaws and annoyances that shouldn't be there, such as awkward tagging. Meanwhile, the Foursquare app still reserves space for a check-in feature that isn't even there anymore. Yet features a lot of users loved and depended on, such as lists, have been stripped of their usefulness and severely crippled.

I'll leave my verdict out on whether or not discovery has improved that drastically until my next large trip at the end of this year. I'm really hoping that Foursquare can dig deeper before then and put together some of the pieces that still feel very out of place. Until then, I'll be moving Yelp to the first page of all my Home screens, just in case.

What about you?

Swarm by Foursquare is a new social checkin and meetup up for iPhone. At first I was a little stumped. Why would I need Swarm if my friends and I already use Foursquare? However, as I started using Swarm I started to change my mind. It's a different app and it's useful for something that's both similar and yet very different from Foursquare — seeing what your friends are up to and figuring out how and where to meet up with them.

Anyone who already uses Foursquare should understand the basic concepts of Swarm immediately. Just as you would check in on Foursquare, you can do the same through Swarm. The main difference is that Swarm is meant to be used when you are looking for something to do or you're attending an event you'd like other people to join you.

While Foursquare functions as a feed of all your Foursquare contacts, Swarm focuses only on those that are currently nearby. The main screen gives you an overview of who is in your direct vicinity, whose a few miles out, and who's far away. If you're looking for something to do, let your friends know where you are by checking in and then post a status. They can then let you know they're interested. Since Swarm can actively run in the background, it can alert you when your friends are nearby or want to meet up. The only downside is that obviously constant use of GPS can and will run your battery down faster.

Swarm also integrates with Twitter, Facebook Messenger, and SMS — if you let it. This means if one of your friends is nearby and you want to contact them, just tap on their photo choose your contact method. Since Swarm ties directly into Foursquare, you'll also receive all your Foursquare friend requests through Swarm as well.

A unique feature to Swarm is sticker collection. Anyone who remembers Gowalla, which sadly was discontinued many years ago, most likely remembers picking up items at places when checking in and adding them to your pack. The sticker aspect of Swarm somewhat reminds me of the days of Gowalla. Unfortunately, I don't really see a way to interact with items like you could in Gowalla. Perhaps that will come in a future update.

The good

• Easy to use interface and design that will be familiar to most Foursquare users
• Great integration with Facebook Messenger, Twitter, and SMS for one touch contact with friends
• Easily turn off your location information if you go somewhere you don't want to broadcast

The bad

• Not a lot of people seem to be using Swarm just yet, which limits its usefulness for the time being
• Pulls from the same great Foursquare database of locations and data

The bottom line

The more I use Swarm, the more I think it has its own unique place when it comes to social checkin apps. I'll continue to use Foursquare when I'm traveling for the great recommendations and information from locals but I think I'll use Swarm more often when I'm around my hometown and looking for something to do. I'm just hoping more people find out about it and start using it.

If you've used Swarm already, what do you think of it? Will you just continue to use Foursquare or can you find a place for Swarm in your social checkin routine?

• Free - Download Now

I recently went on vacation for a few weeks. Given my job at iMore, I did what any of you would expect me to do — I loaded up my iPhone with all the interesting travel apps I could find, all the ones I thought would help me explore more, all the ones that would help me make the most of my time in London and Paris. Guess what? I ended up not using any of them. What I ended up using was an app I'd had installed on my iPhone for years... Foursquare.

I'll preface this by saying I've never really used Foursquare locally unless it was for check-in specials or I had a specific reason, like holding myself accountable to go to the gym three times a week. I've just never seen the point in checking in to random places that I visit regularly. When I got overseas, my mentality completely changed.

The first time I opened Foursquare on our vacation was our first night in London. Our flight was delayed three hours and we hadn't eaten since we left Chicago. Nothing on the room service menu looked appealing so I turned to my iPhone. I opened my travel folder and started browsing the apps I'd downloaded before we left. To my dismay, nothing really looked like it'd help me find something relatively close to our hotel that served a low key menu. And to figure that out, I'd most likely have to search them on another app like Yelp! anyways.

Then I remembered Foursquare and fired it up. In a matter of seconds I was presented with a huge list of pubs and restaurants all within a mile of our hotel. Not only could I see locations, but I could see tips people had left as well as the menu and price range. Excellent. We were on our way in just a matter of minutes to a pub we had picked out.

After dinner we figured we'd head out and explore a little of London before retiring for the night. Again I found myself turning to Foursquare to see what was around us. The London Eye was right around the corner so that's where we went. From there we decided to head to some other sights across town. Again, I could simply search something in Foursquare and choose between both Google Maps and Apple Maps for directions. In our case, it was Google Maps due to the excellent transit directions for navigating the London Underground. In a matter of seconds we were on our way.

During our trip I also found myself wanting to check in places, so we both did. This served two purposes for us. The first was that we had a digital diary of all the places we went during our trip that we could look back at anytime we'd like. The second was that my girlfriend and I both have very worrisome parents. Since our check-ins posted right to our Twitter and Facebook feeds instantly, they knew where we were at all times. It was also fun for them to follow along with our trip and view photos of all the places we were before we even uploaded any.

The most interesting thing I found about Foursquare while abroad was how many of the things we saw that were completely off the beaten path. In London those places consisted of pubs that locals recommended and coffee shops that weren't Starbucks. We even found tips on what vendors to check out at the local Borough Market (which we probably wouldn't have found without Foursquare anyways). Not to mention the money we saved with check-in specials at local businesses. In Paris we found lots of cafes and bakeries from tips left on Foursquare that we never would have stumbled upon otherwise. Neither of us speak very good French so being able to read tips in English saved us a lot of time.

To me these are things that I just didn't get from specialized travel apps. We know what Big Ben is and how to search for the London Eye on Google. What I want is an experience that's different from the next person that went to London on vacation. Foursquare gave us that. The difference is that most of those apps can't serve up vast amounts of crowd sourced data that's always current. I now realize why so many check-in apps are just throwing their hands up and pulling from Foursquare instead. You just can't beat it.

Starting now I'm going to change my attitude about how I use Foursquare. It was the feedback and input from European locals that made our visit to London and Paris a cultural experience that didn't consist of staring at monuments and buildings right next to other tourists. When I know a Chicago restaurant is worth checking out or that a museum offers free admission after a certain time, I'm going to make it a point to leave those tips for others to discover.

And next time I go on vacation, Foursquare will be the only guide book in my pocket.

Foursquare for iPhone has received a significant update and makeover making it easier than ever to share and catalog your experiences and find new places to go.

The new design features just three tabs: Friends, Explore, and You (it will actually be your name). At the top of all the tabs is a check-in button in the upper right corner, making it simple to check-in from any screen of the app.

The friends tab is like a news feed of your friends' activity on Foursquare. If your friend uploaded a photo, it will be displayed nice and big with the caption overlaid on the top. You also have the ability to add a comment and "like" each entry.

The Explore tab is where you go to discover the Top Picks of your area. It features a map of your location at the top with drop pins of the Top Picks. If you tap on the map, you can view it full screen and get a closer look at the locations to see user-submitted photos and comments and leave a tip of your own. You can also scroll around the map and specify the location of the map. Scrolling through the Explore tab will display all the Top Picks like a feed. Each entry has an image, a user-submitted comment, and shows all the avatars of your friends that have been there.

The You tab is where you can view your profile information including your friends, stats, photos, tips, badges, and lists. You can also scroll through and see all the places you've recently visited. This is also the tab where you can edit your settings, including notification settings.

When you check-in to a location, you have the option to add a comment and image. You can also choose to post your check-in to Facebook and Twitter. Some locations you check-in to have specials. Some specials will benefit you by giving you some sort of deal on your purchase, and others promise to help a cause. For example, if you check-in to Starbucks from June 6-10, they'll donate $1 to help fight AIDS.

The good

• Great redesign
• Simplified to just three tabs
• Get deals when checking-in to some locations
• Share to Facebook and Twitter

The bad

• Still no iPad version

The bottom line

I'm a huge fan of the Foursquare and that's saying a lot since I hated the old Foursquare for iPhone app. This new version is much more simple, intuitive, and streamlined. Now if only they'd release an iPad version!

Free - Download Now

Foursquare has revoked API access to the iOS app Girls Around Me, forcing them to take their tracking app down from the Apple App Store. This follows a scathing editorial on Cult of Mac in which the privacy implications of the app were called into question. The Russian developer, i-Free, has since issued a statement claiming  that they've done nothing wrong, and that they're only using APIs on Foursquare and Facebook to enable users to find the names and locations of girls and guys nearby.

Girls Around Me is without a doubt a skeezy concept, and I'm all for raising internet privacy awareness -- Girls Around Me serves as a perfect example of why you want to be mindful of what you post online. Still, I think it's a little unfair to demonize the app and its developer. They were simply making a buck with the tools that were available and addressing an obvious demand. Is there anything stopping registered Foursquare users from monitoring recent check-ins at their favourite haunts and drilling down into those profiles to find linked Facebook accounts? It seems like Girls Around Me only simplified and monetized an activity that was (and still is) possible to engage in with anyone that had Foursquare and Facebook installed on their phone. Case in point, Foursquare didn't pull the API on moralistic grounds; they explained that it was done simply because of how i-Free was displaying the data.

Girls Around Me basically just made it so would-be stalkers wouldn't have to browse through each business individually, and could instead just glance at a map for recent check-ins. Even that kind of service is already available elsewhere.

There are ways to implement location-based dating without getting creepy -- namely, providing a layer of anonymity that can protect people from being spied on unless they explicitly allow access. That said, people who don't want to be tracked down shouldn't be checking in on Foursquare, and if they are, they should take some time to figure out the privacy settings.

Was Foursquare right to revoke API access to Girls Around Me? Will doing so actually improve awareness of online privacy concerns or prevent abuses?

Source: WSJ, Cult of Mac

iOS 5 brings a lot of great new features to iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad but more than that -- it lets developers bring us even better apps and games! Whether it's a great old app that's been updated with amazing new functionality, or a brand new app that never would have been possible before, they now get access to everything from Documents in the Cloud to AirPlay Mirroring to Twitter integration to Newsstand, to persistent location and more.

There will no doubt be a flood of them soon but for right now, right this minute, here are a list of our favorites, the ones we think are the best -- TiPb's Top 5 apps that support awesome new iOS 5 features!

iWork Numbers, Pages, and Keynote (Documents in the Cloud)

Apple's iWork productivity suite includes the Numbers spreadsheet, the Pages word processor, and the Keynote presentation maker. While not as powerful as Microsoft's ubiquitous Office suite, for smaller jobs they can make for even more beautiful, better laid out documents. And now, Documents in the Cloud. It only makes sense that Apple is right out of the gate with iCloud support for their own apps, and that the support is pretty good. Any Numbers, Pages, or Keynote document that you start on your iPhone or iPad is stored up on iCloud and pushed back down to all your other devices, including -- eventually -- the iWork apps on the Mac.

There's no file system, no file management. The idea is for you to simply open your apps and find your documents there waiting for you, up to date and ready for more. If editing on all your iOS and OS X devices is important for you, iWork is now a powerful, easy way to do it.

Note: iWork apps are universal, so you only have to buy once to use on all your iOS devices, including iPhone and iPad. However, each app needs to be bought separately, and the Mac versions need to be bought separately as well.

• Numbers - $9.99 App Store link
• Pages - $9.99 - [App Store link](mt=8 http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pages/id361309726?mt=8&at=10l3Vy
• Keynote - $9.99 App Store link

Magazine and newspaper apps (Newsstand)

While many people seem to hate even the presence of Newsstand on their home screens, it actually manages to very neatly solve several problems previously associated with subscription media like magazines and newspapers. It's really just a custom folder, and magazines and newspapers are still served up as apps, but Newsstand keeps them all in one place, updates automagically when new issues "come out", and takes you to a subscription section of the App Store so you don't have to wade through games and novelty apps to find your periodicals.

Those magazine and newspaper apps had to update for iOS 5 to support Newsstand, but many already have and many more will update shortly. If subscriptions are your thing, Newsstand, if not perfect, is certainly better.

Note: Some apps are universal, many aren't. Check for the + symbol on a case-by-case basis.

• Variable - App Store link

Real Racing 2 and Real Racing 2 HD (AirPlay Mirroring)

FireMint is always at the cutting edge of iOS gaming and iOS 5 is no different. They've already updated Real Racing 2 for iPhone and Real Racing 2 HD for iPad to support the new AirPlay Mirroring feature. It lets you stream your iPhone 4S or iPad 2 interface -- including any app or game -- through an Apple TV to a big screen HDTV. FireMint takes it to a whole new level -- they offer full on Party Play. What that means is you and up to 4 people total can each use an iPhone 4S or iPad 2 to race, multiplayer style, on the big screen. Not only is that a whole lot of fun -- it's a shot across the bow of every console in the casual gaming space.

Hopefully soon we'll see all sorts of board games, shooters, and other great titles support to feature. Until then we'll be busy playing Real Racing 2.

Note: It's not a universal binary, so you'll have to buy it separately for iPhone and iPad if you want it on both, but right now it's on 40% sale so it's as close to a no brainer as you can get.

• $2.99 on sale - iPhone App Store
• $3.99 on sale - iPad App Store

iQuick Tweet (Twitter Integration)

iOS 5 has built-in Twitter integration so you can rapidly tweet a photo, YouTube video, etc. iQuick Tweet smartly took that rapidity and made it the focus of a dedicated app. You launch, you type a Twitter status, you hit send, you're done. It's just that simple and it's just that fast.

If you want to read timelines, search through @mentions, explore profiles, check trends, or do a lot of other stuff besides tweeting, there's an embarrassment of full fledged Twitter clients on iOS, but if all you want to do is blast off a message, iQuick Tweet has you covered.

• $0.99 - iPhone App Store link

foursquare (Location)

For iOS 5 users, foursquare now offers the new Radar feature, with ability to alert you when your friends are near and doing something fun -- even if your iPhone is in your pocket. This awesome -- or terrifying -- new feature means you don't have to have your iPhone out and foursquare open all the time, in constant fear you might miss out on what's happening around you. While it's not as granular as Apple's new Find my Friends app, if your goal is to know where the cool stuff is happening, foursquare Rader is a lot more powerful.

• Free - iPhone App Store

Bonus: Instapaper (Brightness and Dictionary)

Favored as the best way to devour web articles by geeks everywhere, Instapaper proves that it's not just the big, flashy iOS 5 features that can make a difference -- the little ones matter too. Support for the built-in dictionary and native brightness controls means downloading the app is faster, and reading your saved articles is more comfortable than ever. (The UI has also received an excellent overhaul.)

Note: Instapaper is a universal app so you can buy it once and use it on all your iOS devices.

• $4.99 - App Store link

Addenda: Jailbreak apps

A lot of Jailbreak apps and tweaks are also being updated to support iOS 5. If Jailbreak is where your heart lies, keep your browser locked on TiPb.com/Jailbreak for all the updates.

Your favorite new iOS 5 apps?

iOS 5 is only a week old and we've only just begun to scratch the surface of what iOS 5 apps and games will bring to our iPhones and iPads. Did we miss any of your favorites? Did we leave any of the best new apps and updates out? Is there anything else that should have made our top 5 list?

If so, speak up and let us know in the comments!