Android Quick App: Yelp

Chances are, most of you have heard of (and probably used) Yelp. Whether it's been their initial online presence, their myriad phone apps, or just a friend raving about it, Yelp is the top dog in finding delicious eateries on-the-go.

Opening up the Android app, you'll notice six large, friendly looking icons to choose from. Nearby, Check-Ins, About Me, Bookmarks, Monocle, and Deals. A few of those are pretty self-explanatory, and one of them you just need to see to believe.

Nearby is going to use your cell phone's location (rough or precise, up to you) to show you a list of everything around you. It doesn't discriminate by style or genre, so if you're just curious to see what's delish, this is definitely the way to go. Check-Ins is Yelp's version of Foursqaure/Gowalla/Places/Latitude. You can check-in to bars, restaurants and what-have-you, but I'm not sure why. Yes, you can become mayor or king or top dog or iron chef (not really, on the last one), but maybe there's coupons involved.

Speaking of coupons, Deals is just that. If you want to know where you can save a buck, get something for free, or see what other promotions are going on, click on Deals and know you'll be saving some greenbacks.

About Me and Bookmarks both require that you have a Yelp account, and if you do, they'll prompt you to log in. This allows you to check-in and leave reviews (and ensures you get credit to your Yelp account, for what it's worth) and also lets you view your list of Bookmarks if you've got a hankering for one of your favorite places that you've conveniently forgotten the address of.

The thing that really does it for me (although it's usefulness is debatable) is Monocle. Monocle pulls you into an augmented reality environment, where, as you move your camera around, restaurants and such pop up on your screen, along with their rating, distance, and cost. I couldn't get a good screenshot without some wicked tearing, so just check it out for yourself.

There's also the standard search bar at the top of the page, and you choose to search a name or style either based on current location, but also anything else, like a city or a zip code. It's the simplest way, but it's how things got started and it still works.

So, if you like both 1.) food and 2.) saving money, Yelp should definitely be installed on your device. It's free, it's quick, and it's easy, plus, it's proven.

More screenshots and download links are after the break.