App of the Week – AroundMe

Imagine condensing the Yellow Pages into an app, having all of the results personalised to your current location, and then throwing in user-generated reviews for good measure.

‘An impossible feat’ you might think, but AroundMe seems to have done just that.

Presented in an extremely simple user interface, AroundMe starts off by giving you a list of local points of interest; These include restaurants, bars, hospitals, pharmacies and movie theatres… even concerts should you wish to dance the night away!

During our test we focused around a favourite pastime of ours; local pubs. The app immediately displayed a list of drinking holes, sorted by distance from us, and showing at-a-glance star reviews.

Clicking on a place of interest will bring up further information such as a map with directions, contact details and opening hours. The app also aggregates user-generated reviews, tips and photos from third parties such as Yelp and Foursquare – great for getting a bit of insider knowledge before you take the plunge yourself.

Whether you’re out-and-about and are looking for a restaurant or you’re moving to a new area and want to find the best local pubs, this may well be the app for you! AroundMe is available for free (ad-supported) from both Google Play and the Apple App Store. There is also a paid-for version available.