Restaurant recommendation site Urbanspoon is preparing to roll out a new iPad app and subscription service called RezBook, which will allow restaurants to book and manage reservations.

Similar to OpenTable and its backend management software, RezBook is designed to replace the paper booking system that many restaurants use with a system that is not only mobile, but also capable of storing customer information, seating requests and more.

We spoke with Urbanspoon co-foudner Ethan Lowry about RezBook, Urbanspoon and the iPad.

 
When the iPad was first announced, the team at Urbanspoon immediately saw the device as a perfect extension to its website. While the company released an iPad optimized version of its popular iPhone app last month, Mr. Lowry said that the company immediately had bigger plans in mind for the new Apple tablet.

Last November, Seattle-based Urbanspoon did a local roll-out of its reservation service, Rez. The company recently expanded Rez to Los Angeles and has plans to launch in other major cities throughout the next year. Similar to OpenTable, Rez lets customers book tables at restaurants online, within the Urbanspoon mobile apps, or via a widget located on a restaurant’s homepage.

Unlike competitor OpenTable, Urbanspoon does not charge for covers (reservations) booked from a restaurant’s own website, only covers booked through the Urbanspoon site or app.

However, Rez really only took care of basic reservation management; it was still up to the individual restaurant to manage or integrate Rez with their existing systems. With RezBook, which will be available to restaurants throughout the U.S., the idea is to replace the traditional paper reservation book with an iPad.

The iPad offers a few advantages over other electronic systems:

• It’s a consumer device, which means that using it is more straightforward and often more familiar to staffers than other systems.
• The price of the hardware itself is relatively inexpensive, especially for its form factor.
• The iPad 3G offers restaurants good backup if internal WiFi becomes flakey.

In addition to monitoring tables and reservations and automatically pulling in online reservations, RezBook allows restaurant workers to store customer information like seating preference, food allergies, important dates, etc. As Mr. Lowry said, “This is what can separate restaurants that have really good relationships with customers from those that don’t.” Every restaurant-goer can appreciate when restaurants remember things about their dining experience.

From a pricing perspective, RezBook won’t break the bank. The app itself will be free, and subscriptions to the service will start at $99 per month. In addition to having the iPad app, restaurants will also be able to access reservation data on a web-based back-end, which is useful for managers who might want to check in on things from home.

Urbanspoon is already one of my favorite ways to find recommendations for restaurants; with RezBook, it might finally give OpenTable some competition in the online reservation space. As great as OpenTable is, it’s virtually the only major player in the online reservation space, and its pricing model often excludes smaller or mid-size restaurants that could really benefit from a better system.

RezBook is currently in testing in Seattle. Restaurants interested in joining the program can contact Urbanspoon through this page. In the coming weeks, the app will be in the App Store.

Author: Christina Warren

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Just weeks after launching an official BlackBerry app and acquiring Tweetie (which will become Twitter for iPhone), Twitter is out with another mobile application built in-house, this time for Google Android.

The app is available immediately in the Android Market. Twitter’s Leland Rechis describes it on the company’s official blog, writing, “Reading tweets is easy in a bunch of places on your phone. Quickly access your timeline with the home screen widget, view a tweet location on a map, and see your friend’s latest tweet in your phonebook, GoogleTalk list or any application that uses Android’s QuickContact bar.”

Twitter’s move to Android was expected, but marks the latest twist in the ongoing rift between Twitter and its third-party developers. In an interview with Mashable earlier this month, Seesmic CEO Loic Le Meur, whose company makes one of Twitter’s more popular Android apps, dismissed the competitive threat levied by Twitter. Now, we’ll see how his company and others fare as they go head-to-head with the microblogging giant on yet another platform.

Meanwhile, here’s a few screenshots of the official Android app provided by Twitter:

We’re all downloading Twitter for Android now and will be back in a bit with some more details and analysis.

Author: Adam Ostrow

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It only takes knowing one Lost fan to understand the addictive power of television. But not everyone has the time or energy to hunt for hints about who is good, evil, or dead this week. iPhone apps let the obsessed fan keep tabs on his or her favorites before, during, and after the episodes air.

With season and series finales looming, the time to gather every scrap of information is nigh. These 10 apps use games, communities and unaired videos to help devotees keep their favorite shows close.

1. CW City Wize

For those Gossip Girl fans not already stalking Manhattan for the clubs, restaurants and shops visited on the show, this app will make it easy to start. Detailed maps pinpoint featured spots, and a few include clips of the characters visiting the locations. West Coast souls can use the app to find the Beverly Hills and Hollywood hot spots visited on 90210 and Melrose Place.

Cost: Free

2. Mythbusters

The homepage is centered around communicating with other fans through Twitter and Facebook, and video content rounds out the app, but the real goods are in the games. Three games based on three different myths — Matchstick Cannon, Seesaw Saga, and Soda Bomb — test fans’ myth-busting skills. All of the games include a little video about the episode, followed by cannonball bowling, target-crushing Buster drops, and Mentos and soda shootouts.

Cost: $2.99

3. Glee

The makers of the I Am T-Pain app did not disappoint with another foray into autotune. This app lets Gleeks sing along with songs from the show — three included, and the rest for 99 cents a pop. Terrible singers can rejoice: The app lets users add pitch correction and automatic harmonies to any recording. It won’t quite bring people up to Kristin Chenoweth levels of greatness, but it will at least minimize embarrassment when the recording goes up on the web for the world to hear and sing along with.

Cost: $2.99, on sale for $0.99

4. Food Network Nighttime

An upgrade and a downgrade evens out for this longstanding app. Version 1.1 added the Food Network’s enormous recipe collection, but got rid of full episodes in favor of clips and behind-the-scenes videos. While watching an entire episode of Ace of Cakes on the train would be a bonus, access to Alton Brown’s recipe book is just as good. The app also has the channel’s schedule, so fans can plan on catching their favorite shows.

Cost: Free

5. AMC

Fans of Mad Men, The Prisoner, and Breaking Bad can find some quality clips in this catchall app for AMC shows. Behind-the-scenes videos, previews, and cast interviews provide a nice midweek jolt of content, and the iPhone-optimized blogs and schedule let die-hards read up on the latest news and find out when reruns are airing. Just don’t expect too much entertainment value from the sections of the app not related to the series.

Cost: Free

6. MTV’s Jersey Shore City Guide

Grab the self-tanner and get ready to get down like a guido or guidette. This app lets fans track the venerable stars of Jersey Shore by spotlighting their favorite bars and clubs. Hopeful cast members can search for nearby spots or choose from a cast member’s top picks. The included bios list off who is single and taken, so fans looking for camera time can remember who to aim for. The app is also Foursquare compatible, letting users share their night out with the world. And really, who wouldn’t want to be mayor of a club on the shore?

Cost: $0.99

7. The Colbert Report’s “The Word”

Single-minded focus has its perks, and this app is one of them. Collecting every airing of his signature segment “The Word,” this app has hundreds of clips for a midday shot of sarcasm from Stephen Colbert. Each day, a new clip is featured, and fans can dig through the archives back to 2005, ordering the clips by date aired or “Word” topic.

Cost: $0.99

8. InHouse

House fans looking for extra content will find it here. Behind-the-scenes footage and photos, video blogs with the staff, and a weekly contest for a signed set-piece all find a home in this comprehensive app. Developers promise weekly “appisodes” written by the staff writers, but focused around a new, undoubtedly less-compelling nurse. What makes the app great also makes the show great — each week writers pick their favorite House-isms, letting users relive the best barbs.

Cost: Free

9. Dexter the Game

An intense game for an intense show, Dexter the Game lets users pick, stalk and kill their victims while working to protect Dexter’s identity. The game includes mini-challenges within the storyline, including a blood-spatter analysis game — quite a feat for a mobile app. Excellent graphics, a new storyline partially written by the producer, and voice-overs from Michael C. Hall do justify the high price tag.

Cost: $5.99

10. The Caprican

The oddity of the concept works for a show as out there as Caprica. The app is designed as a newspaper for Caprica, the imaginary world at the center of the show. Once users suspend disbelief and accept the fictional as reality, there is tons of information tucked into the articles to get the prediction gears whirring before every episode.

Cost: Free

Authort: Sarah Collins

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Spring has sprung, summer’s around the corner — it’s time to get outside and get in shape. We know your iPhone-owning counterparts have plenty of apps for tracking their calories and kilometers to stay in shape, but there are plenty of health-related apps in the Android Market, too.

Here are eight highly rated free and paid Android apps that will help you get and stay in shape. If you’ve got recommendations — particularly for apps that will help folks get outdoors while the weather’s nice — please let us know about them in the comments.

1. CardioTrainer + Racing

This app combines the free CardioTrainer with a racing application that challenges users to beat their own best times. Motivational features include a virtual race simulator, complete with a voice telling the user exactly how far behind or ahead he is. In addition to the racing module, the free CardioTrainer app can be enhanced with a weight loss module, which will cost you another $2.99 in the Android Market.

User comments:
“This works great since it’s so motivating! I’m easily beating my previous times. Well done on Droid!”
“The perfect running coach.”

2. Fast Food Calorie Counter

Even when you’re trying to watch your weight, it’s sometimes impossible to resist the allure of fast food. Whether you’re in a hurry or have a sudden craving for a Frosty, this app can help you mitigate the disastrous effects of too many fried, mayonnaise-drenched, delicious snacks. The app tracks and serves data for almost 9,000 items from 72 fast food restaurants. Data includes calories, fat grams, fiber, carbs and protein. There’s also a free version of this app, Fast Food Calorie Counter Lite.

User comments:
“Good resource, but needs to be updated more often.”
“Helps me stick to my diet since I eat out at times.”

3. Endomondo Sports Tracker

This is a great application for runners, cyclists, joggers, rollerskaters/rollerbladers, or folks who simply like to take a walk from time to time. It helps you track your time, distance, speed and altitude, and keeps a history of your workouts. The app integrates with Google Maps and your audio playlist in addition to the website, to allow for a more detailed analysis of your progress.

User comments:
“Works seamlessly. Excellent social integration. Highly recommended.”
“The best. I have tried so many other apps of this style and none compare to Endomondo’s accuracy and speed.”

4. Calorie Counter by FatSecret

Here’s a simple tool for those who’d like to keep track of their calories and other nutrition facts. This app also figures the recommended daily intake for a user to achieve his or her fitness and weight goals, and has a built-in barcode scanner to make finding foods a snap. As they say, “The more you know…”

User comments:
“Really helps me stick to my diet, and it has a lot of foods.”
“So handy, and scanner function rocks.”

5. AllSport GPS

This app is on the spendier side of the Android Market, but many users rave about its capabilities. AllSport GPS allows users to track routes, distance, time, speed and calories burned. Users get maps, virtual races, downloadable routes, elevation and speed graphs. The app also lets you share workouts online, including on Facebook.

User comments:
“Great app.”
“Sometimes you lose GPS signal and it will give you inaccurate data.”

6. Beer Gut Fitness

If you’re worried about your intake of empty calories from all those frosty beers and caipirinhas you plan to drink this spring and summer, this might be the app for you. It tells you when you’re safe to have a drink — calorically speaking — and when you need to exercise. It even shows you what kinds of exercise you can do and for how long.

User comments:
“Walked 3 hours[...] and was happy to see I earned a crap load of beer.”
“Love finishing a swim and having it tell me how many drinks I’ve banked.”

7. Absolute Fitness

If you want an all-in-one app to track your food intake, exercise regimen and fitness goals, check out Absolute Fitness. It includes features such as stats, charts, food analysis and online backup of your data.

User comments:
“I love it! You have to make time to use it, but you will if you’re committed to it.”
“Would be perfect if you could scan in barcodes.”

8. Backpacker GPS Trails

For the true outdoors lover, or for those who need a little mobile support to feel at home in the wild, Backpacker provides a portable trip database and personal navigation device. You can track yourself, geotag pics and vids, share your trips and download maps. Best of all, users can find nearby trails, including thousands of trips endorsed by the readers and editors of Backpacker magazine.

User comments:
“All the hikes I read about now I can get on my G1.”
“Great app, it’s amazing how you can search for hikes around you, save to the phone and use for navigation!”

Author: Jolie O’Dell

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Flowtown has posted an infographic illustrating cellphone use among teenagers. The data, which is sourced from Pew Internet Research, visually underscores something we’ve known for a long time: Teens love to text.

At this point, 75% of teens have cellphones, up from 45% back in 2004. Thirty-three percent of teens send more than 100 texts per day. Teenage boys send an average of 30 text messages per day and girls send an average of 80.

What do you think of the infographic and the stats it shows off? Does any of the data surprise you? Let us know!

User reviews: Facebook, Twitter

Author: Christina Warren

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Oh dear. From the “there’s never been a better time to worry about the future of civilization” department comes the disturbing news that one in 10 people under the age of 25 deem it perfectly OK to send SMS messages during sex. It certainly adds new meaning to the term “sexting.”

A recent survey by consumer electronics shopping and review site Retrevo uncovered the disturbing statistic along with a few other generation gap metrics, including that the under 25 demographic is far more likely to think it’s OK to text during meals or while in the bathroom — something Charmin would surely approve of.

We all know multi-tasking even in social situations is becoming more culturally commonplace, but are there limits? If there are, it looks like they aren’t in the bedroom: a whopping 76% of millenials report checking Facebook or Twitter after getting into bed at night and/or before getting out of bed in the morning.

What do you think: Are there situations where we should be drawing the line? When is it not appropriate to be text messaging or social networking?

Image credits: Gawker and found_drama

via Rosa Golijan

User reviews: Facebook, Twitter

Author: Barb Dybwad

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A recent survey [PDF] of cellphone users revealed that more than half of Verizon’s customer base would abandon their current phones for an iPhone if given the opportunity.

Market research firm ChangeWave polled more than 4,000 cellphone users for the study. Of the Verizon customers surveyed, 19% said they would “very likely” purchase an iPhone if it became available on Verizon, while another 34% claimed that they would be “somewhat likely” to purchase.

Sprint and T-Mobile customers were less enthusiastic about the device. 11% of of Sprint and T-Mobile customers said they would “very likely” buy the iPhone if it became available via their carrier, and only 33% and 28% said they would be “somewhat likely” to buy, respectively.

“The survey results show an unprecedented level of pent up demand for the iPhone among Verizon subscribers,” the survey noted. “If Verizon were ever to offer the iPhone… [it would have] a profound and likely transformational impact on the industry.”

Although many Verizon customers want an iPhone, very few are willing to switch to AT&T to get it. 49% of Verizon customers — the highest in the industry — claimed that they were “very satisfied” with the carrier. Furthermore, only 7% said they were “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to switch wireless providers in the next 90 days, compared to 8% of AT&T, 10% of Sprint and 14% of T-Mobile subscribers.

The study again leaves us asking: When will the iPhone come to Verizon?

User reviews: Facebook, Twitter

Author: Lauren Indvik

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Although Google announced only last month that Sprint would carry its Nexus One phone, the carrier has since retracted from that plan.

Gizmodo reports that the carrier will instead focus its efforts on the upcoming HTC EVO 4G it will be launching this summer. Both devices are Android phones, but the EVO is arguably more full-featured and will take advantage of Sprint’s 4G network — the next-generation cellular service that will be more akin to true mobile broadband with faster speeds than current 3G networks.

This comes as a one-two blow toGoogle, considering Verizon also recently opted out of carrying the Nexus One. The other major U.S. CDMA carrier will in turn be focusing on its Droid Incredible handset as its flagship Android model.

In other words, Google loses but it also wins: The Nexus One just didn’t take off the way the search giant hoped, but on the other hand it’s really only losing out to other phones running Google Android. Considering how well Android itself is doing these days — even besting the iPhone in sales figures last quarter — the blow to Google over the Nexus One disappointment is not a hard one.

How do you think the Nexus One stacks up against the other Android phones available right now? Are Sprint and Verizon right in backing other handsets in its stead?

User reviews: Android, Facebook, Google, Twitter

Author: Barb Dybwad

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We need a native iPad app for Facebook but until Facebook HQ gets around to making one, the next best thing has just arrived via social media aggregator sobees.

sobees for Facebook [iTunes link] is an iPad app that lets you manage your Facebook experience in a native app designed to take advantage of the iPad’s enlarged screen.

The app, which is free through the end of May, provides many of the features that Facebook fans have been looking for in an iPad app. This includes the ability to:

Check out this video which shows off the app in action:

Given the dearth of good Facebook options for the iPad, we’re glad that an app like sobees for Facebook is available. It’s a good example of how third-party tools can still offer a valuable — and sometimes superior — experiences in their own right.

What are you using to access and manage Facebook on the iPad? Let us know!

User reviews: Facebook, Twitter

Author: Christina Warren

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Apple’s iPad hits stores this Saturday. Of course, the App Store is a big reason the iPhone has been such a huge success, so many of us are really excited to get a glimpse at what apps for the iPad will look like.

About ten days ago, developers got the opportunity to start submitting their iPad apps to the App Store and those that are deemed ready will be available on day one. Earlier today, we looked at Twitepad, a Twitter() client for the iPad

Now check out these 10 other application demo videos. We’re not sure if every app on this list will be available on day one, but collectively they certainly represent some of the early trends we expect to see in this next wave of mobile application development. Which is your favorite?

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1. iMockups for iPad

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iMockups for iPad by Endloop is an app that lets designers or developers build wireframes for the iPhone, iPad or a web application right on the device.

Wireframing can be an invaluable process and while it can absolutely be done on paper, it often works better in a digital form, especially if the output is going to be digital. We’re not sure on the actual application details, but it looks pretty sweet, check it out!
 

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2. SktechNotes for iPad

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Our friends at TUAW posted this video showing off SketchNotes for the iPad. SketchNotes brings drawing and note-taking together in one app to create the digital equivalent of your favorite notebook.

Developed by ZombieCatSoftware, SketchNotes is sure to be just one of the many drawing and note-taking apps we see in the coming weeks for the iPad!

 

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3. Mondo Solitaire

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Another app that was first featured by our friends at TUAW is mondo Solitaire from Ambrosia Software.

Ambrosia has been in the Mac development space for 17 years, making games and utilities for the Mac, iPhone and now iPad. Mondo Solitaire shows off just how cool a card game can look on the iPad! 

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4. BuzzVoice for iPad

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BuzzVoice is an app that reads you your favorite news sources (including Mashable()) on your iPhone, iPod touch, desktop computer or MP3 player. Now it’s coming to the iPad. Last week, the BuzzVoice team put together this video showing off the app and some of its features. It looks very similar to the iPhone app, but with an added playlist manager.
 

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5. Kobo for the iPad

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Kobo is a global eReading service that offers apps for iPhone, BlackBerry, Palm Pre, Android(), PC and Mac and now the iPad!

Kobo released a sneak peek of Kobo for the iPad on its company blog. Kobo’s not sure if the app will make it into the store on launch day, but you can check out what should be headed your way soon.

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6. Mighty Meeting

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MightyMeeting is a tool that lets you run presentations and meetings from your iPhone, and now, iPad, whether doing something in person or across the world. I actually saw this presentation live at DEMO last week and was really impressed with what MightyMeeting is doing and how they are taking advantage of the iPad hardware to make the product really sing.

I have a feeling that the iPad is going to become a popular presentation tool and MightyMeeting, along with Apple’s own Keynote for iPad, are some of the first to really address that space.

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7. iBrite

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I firmly believe that nostalgia is one of the four pillars of the Internet(). As such, you see lots of web sites, web apps and now, iPad apps, dedicated to reminiscing about awesome stuff from the past. With iBrite, you can turn your $500 iPad into a replica LITE-BRITE.

You remember LITE-BRITE, that cool toy that let you create pictures with a lightboard? First appearing in 1967 and a part of many households in the 1970s and 1980s, you can relive the magic iPad style. Check out the video that iBrite has put together:

The iBrite creators are taking a poll on their website to figure out pricing for the app. It’ll be between $1.99 and $4.99 when it comes out.

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8. iPad Browsing Part II

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Yesterday, our own Brenna Ehrlich posted an iPad walkthrough from MacStories that showed off what browsing the App Store() looks like on the iPad. Today, MacStories has followed up the video with a second-part, this time showing off some of the charts, categories and how to switch to iPhone apps.

Check it out!

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9. Apple Guided Tour: Safari

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Apple has a series of Guided Tours for the iPad featuring all of the built-in apps, as well as the iWork apps that will be available in the App Store.

Check out the video tour of Safari for the iPad:

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10. Apple Guided Tour: iBooks

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Another guided tour video from Apple features the new iBooks app. Check it out below and see how this interface compares with what Kobu is doing.

 

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Have an iPad Demo Video? Let us know!

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Did we miss your app? Leave a note in the comments and link us to your demo! What apps are you most looking forward to playing with on the iPad? Let us know!

User reviews: Android, App Store, Internet, Mashable, Twitter

 

AUTHOR:  Christina Warren

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