14 DAY TRIAL // Foursquare is moving further away from the 'check-in,' which made it famous and is banking more and more on discovery. The latest feature, dubbed Radar, falls squarely in this category.
Radar enables users to know when places they may be interested in are nearby.
Foursquare relies on lists the users are following, what their friends are up to and other triggers to suggest places when they are nearby.
The app doesn't even have to be running, it still works, with the caveat that this is only available for the iOS 5 version of the app for now.
"The initial vision for foursquare centered around one question: can we build something to help make the world easier to use," Foursquare explained.
"Until now, we’ve focused around sharing what you’re doing and building expertise, with features like checking in, tips and recommendations," it added.
"Now, if you follow a list, like the 101 Best Dishes of 2011, foursquare will let you know when you’re next to one. Or you save that yoga studio to your To-Do List (because you really want to try it); we can remind you when you’re close," Foursquare announced.
"Or, better yet, if you’re driving home and three of your friends are getting together nearby, we’ll tell you so you can meet up," it explained.
There's no question that Foursquare, at its heart, has been about location and discovery. But it caught on precisely because of the game features and the check-ins.
Still, now that it has a very solid database of places as well as plenty of check-in data, it can use that to find places and things that people will want to go to even if they don't know it yet.
It may seem like a big departure for Foursquare, it may very well be, but it is a necessary transformation one that, done correctly, could push the service to the next level.