SCVNGR 3.5 Arrives with Slew of New Features

I have to admit it, check-in apps have grown on me quite a bit over the last year.   I’ve gone from “Meh, that’s just not my style” to “Oh man, I almost forgot to check in!” in the short span of six months.  I’ve never been a fan of foursquare but Gowalla and SCVNGR have always fascinated me.  Gowalla has its ease of use and aesthetics whereas SCVNGR has its fun factor and certain level of coolness.  I’m excited today to learn that SCVNGR has been overhauled and released to the market with new features and a great redesign.  If you haven’t considered trying a check in service yet, I feel great about recommending SCVNGR.  Note: Android 2.1 and above please.

New, and old, features for SCVNGR 3.5 include:

• Dashboard Layout! Brand new layout makes SCVNGR faster and more convenient than ever.
• Commenting and +1-ing! Have you ever been playing SCVNGR and noticed that your friend just checked-in to the neighborhood pub before noon for the third day in a row and you wanted to say something about it? Or that your other friend just snapped a pic at that new restaurant you’ve been hearing so much about and you wanted to let them know how great it is? Now you can comment on your friends’ activity in real-time! Or if a comment just isn’t enough, you can +1 (“plus one”) their activity and give them an extra point for doing something awesome, say… checking-in at the gym.
• Real-world rewards just for playing! There are over 12,000 locations offering rewards on SCVNGR. This means that pretty much wherever you are, there’s someplace in town where you can get free ice cream, coffee or half off your meal just by playing SCVNGR! And now, you can find these places (and keep track of your rewards) more easily than ever.
• The Social Map! Maps rock! Friends rock! Geology rocks! So what if you could put your friends on the map? That’d be cool. It’d be a like a neat social utility to help meet up with your pals wherever they are, and then do the social check-in, of course!
• Activity Stream 2.0. We’ve completely retooled our activity stream to surface the most interesting content. Activity is grouped into visits, showing not just where your friends are, but what they’re up to at those places. Check-ins, pictures, badges, challenges,rewards and more — it’s all right in the stream.

On a side note, congrats to the SCVNGR team for hitting 500,000 users in just 20 weeks.  Admirable to say the least!