App of the week: Time Out iPhone app for London

Time Out Communications have created an iPhone app for London, and it’s available now for free with sponsorship from Smirnoff Vodka.

It’s practical, nicely designed and well-linked into the iPhone’s capabilities. Each individual listing has the venue address linked to the iPhone Google Maps app and tap any of the telephone numbers provided and you can call them to plan a visit or book tickets etc. Each listing can be shared via Twitter, email or Facebook. Pretty convenient for planning nights out.

Venues like restaurants for example include the Time Out review but also user feedback, judged by ratings on a sliding scale.

The information can be shown on a list: film showings near you ordered by rating or proximity, or on a map, which is visually quite useful for assessing the nearby options.

One nice feature is the Inspire Me page which shows you screen of pictures you can scroll through or shake to refresh. I also like the add to favourites section where you can conveniently bookmark venues or events that interest you. The sponsorship from Smirnoff is very present on most pages, but not too obtrusive, though careful you don’t hit an advert for vodka cocktails by accident.

The listings magazine Time Out was almost made to be a mobile app, with the importance of location and time to it’s content, though companies like Qype and Yelp jumped in first into the web and app listings arenas. Since this is a big-hitting app – and it’s free – it could squeeze those newbies out of the mobile phone listings market.