Citysearch.com goes mobile

By Giselle Tsirulnik

December 12, 2008

Citysearch on the go

IAC's Citysearch, a leading online local guide, will be serving travelers on the go.

The company has announced a new application for Apple's iPhone and iPod touch. It is available on the Apple App Store.

The application lets users access rich, local editorial content, browse nearby listings, sort by preferences and write reviews on the go.

Citysearch is an online lifestyle guide with up-to-date information on businesses, from restaurants and spas, to hotels and retail.

Citysearch helps people make decisions about where to spend their time and money by delivering content, local expertise and useful tools, including 14.5 million business listings, more than 600,000 user reviews and ratings on 2 million-plus business locations nationwide.

In March 2007, Citysearch expanded its coverage of local businesses by acquiring Insider Pages. With more than 600,000 customer reviews from members across the U.S. and 2.5 million people, InsiderPages.com was created to help people find the best local businesses through recommendations from their friends and neighbors.

The strategy behind the launch of the application is to empower users as consumers are growing more accustomed to relying on mobile devices to inform urgent decisions and share local, user-generated content.

Citysearch on the iPhone and iPod touch empowers users with mobile reviews, featured write-ups on local neighborhood venues and hyper-local content including user and editorial reviews.

The application leverages the location-based technology in the devices.

Citysearch identifies local restaurants, hotels, bars, spas and shops nearby, so that users can find what they are looking for faster than ever.

People can also search for any business listing or category nearby by keyword and map the results to find their desired destination.

Users can search listings by keyword, category and location and map the results.

Additionally, they can review listing details such as address, phone, maps and directions, photos and hours of operation.

Users can also submit user reviews instantly, without a lengthy registration process and view previous searches and recently viewed listings.

While on the go, users can browse editorial recommendations, user reviews and advice from business owners.

Citysearch is available for free worldwide from Apple's App Store on iPhone and iPod touch or at http://www.itunes.com/appstore.