14 DAY TRIAL // TUAW is reporting that AroundMe (submitted to the App Store two months ago and approved by Apple) has become one of the highly praised and heavily downloaded apps in the venue. The reasons are because the app does what it's advertised to do, showing you nearby restaurants, hotels, theaters, parking lots, hospitals etc, but mostly because it's free!
Best of all, French speaking iPhone users can also download the utility and find out what they've missed out on in their neighborhood, as can German, Portuguese, Swedish, and Japanese handset owners.
“AroundMe allows you to quickly find out information about your surroundings. How many times have you found yourself in need of finding the closest Gas Station? [...] Fast, easy and accurate. AroundMe is your ideal day to day companion,” an excerpt from the official iTunes App Store description goes.
Basically, the app identifies your position and allows you to choose the nearest Bank, Bar, Gas Station, Hospital, Hotel, Movie Theater, Restaurant, Supermarket, Theater, or Taxi, these being the search categories available. As soon as you select one of them, AroundMe shows you a complete list of all the businesses in that respective area, along with the distance from where you are. The app also displays the location on a Map, enabling a view of the route from where you are.
Lastly, if you're satisfied with the results, you can add the information to your contact list, or even email it to a friend. The features don't end here though! AroundMe also pulls up Wikipedia pieces on what's around you, should you need more information. The folks at TUAW note that filtering would be a huge plus with Tweakersoft's app. Maybe future versions will include it.
Before heading over to the App Store link, note that iPod touch is not fully supported, since the device doesn't have a built in GPS, “therefore cannot locate your position accurately,” the developer of the app says.
Download AroundMe via iTunes App Store (Free) (compatible with iPhone and iPod touch; requires iPhone/iPod touch 2.1 Software Update or later)