“Apple Inc.’s coming iPhone map application will include Yelp Inc.’s ‘check-in’ feature to let users broadcast their whereabouts to friends, according to materials Apple distributed to software developers,” Danielle Kucera reports for Bloomberg.
“Apple Maps, which will replace Google Inc. as the default location service in software set to debut later this year, will allow users to communicate through Yelp without exiting the map and opening a new app, the materials show,” Kucera reports. “Yelp, a website that lets users review businesses ranging from plumbers to pet shops, introduced a check-in service for mobile phones in 2010 in an effort to help local merchants build loyalty with regular customers.”
Kucera reports, “Integration with Apple Maps may help Yelp challenge Foursquare Labs Inc. and Facebook Inc., two leading providers of check-in services… Mobile check-ins use the GPS capability in smartphones to let users share what local businesses or events they’re visiting. The feature can show how many other people have checked in at a location, whether those individuals are friends, and can publish users’ whereabouts through social-networking services”
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