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Yelp is the popular review social network that operates in US metropolitan areas, Ireland, the UK and other countries in Europe.  Their application for the BlackBerry was launched over the summer and an update was released in the last few weeks.  It brings the encyclopedic listing of locations and crowd sourced reviews into the palm of your hand.

The application is separated into 3 primary sections as identified in the top navigation Nearby, Search and Recent.  In the Nearby section of the application locations and services within the proximity of your cell phone, as determined by your GPS, are listed by category.  The categories are very wide ranging, from restaurants to drugstores to popular (Hot on Yelp), and clicking on them allows you to dig deeper for more specific groups.  Results are listed with an address, distance and rating or can be displayed as pins on a map, powered by Bing.  These results can also be filtered by cost and whether the venue is “open now.” The detail page provides a picture, rating, phone number, more reviews, location details, hours, a link to directions (interestingly powered by Google) and website.  In short the details page provides all of the information that you are used to from Yelp only on your BlackBerry.

The Search section includes all of the same functionality and information as above only powered by a keyword search instead of finding venues through categories.   It would seem logical to place search first and up-front rather than in second tab, but it is the right layout.  I found the search very easy to use and navigate, but the serendipity of the categories in the nearby section was a stronger draw when it came to being in a new place looking for options, which was more often the case.

Finally the Recent section saves your most recently viewed locations, which is especially handy when you have viewed several options and then need to start narrowing your list.  Once you click into the details for each venue the functionality is the same as every other section.

Unfortunately the Yelp app is a stand alone experience and does not connect with your Yelp account.  You cannot see your bookmarks, you cannot add reviews and you cannot comment on other people’s reviews.  That may speed up the application, and the load time is darn speedy, but for dedicated Yelpers it’s absence feels like a phantom limb.  I keep wanting to add my own ratings, reviews and especially see my bookmarks.  I also think that as Foursquare spreads users will feel the desire to identify where they are creating an opportunity for Yelp to own this space while Foursquare continues to work on their BlackBerry application.  Yelp must already be feeling the heat from Open Table.  Can they withstand another application that gnaws at their audience?

The Yelp application is fast with excellent functionality that should be enough, but the social networking functionality that Yelp has led us to expect on their website is missed on the app. I think they either need to get cracking on adding that soon or it’s just a matter of time before someone eats their lunch.

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