

Show HN: Eating Around, an iPhone app find restaurants nearby - aarondf
http://eatingaround.com

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jedanbik
"Text me a download link", to me, to see that displayed prominently instead of
a link to the App Store (on mobile) strikes me as a creepy way to collect
phone numbers.

That probably isn't how you want to come across (and you probably don't even
care about the phone numbers), so I would suggest having a different version
of that page for user agent: iPhone. Please don't interpret this critique as
me calling you a creep!

~~~
aarondf
You know what, that's a good point. I might just hide the text-to-download if
on iPhone and put the big App Store badge up there. That seems to make more
sense anyway!

Thanks for the feedback, ya creep.

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hashtag
What does this do that Yelp doesn't currently. (On mobile so lazy to click
through is the site explains it).

I ask because I use Yelp for this a lot

~~~
aarondf
Good question. I think if you click through you'll see the use case, but where
Yelp is the Yellow Pages, Eating Around is a hotel concierge.

We give you two inputs: food type & distance. That's it. Then we show you
pretty pictures.

In short: a better user experience.

~~~
fourstar
That's a pretty weak selling point. You probably have less data, and it's yet
another application to sign up for and use.

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aarondf
> You probably have less data

We have as much data as Yelp.

> yet another application to sign up

There's nothing to sign up for.

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steakjern
> We have as much data as Yelp.

Except reviews. For me, a star rating and menu suggestions are much more
valuable choosing criteria than "pretty pictures". I'm having a hard time
swallowing the minimalist design as a legitimate UIX decision and not an
excuse for lack of content.

~~~
aarondf
That was kind of a joke, since we're built on top of Yelp. We made a conscious
decision to not show reviews. Seems like that may be polarizing. Hopefully
there are people on the other side who like that decision...

~~~
acheron
I find Yelp reviews to be worse than useless [1] so I appreciate your decision
anyway.

[1] If I wanted to hear the opinions of self-entitled whiners, I'd talk to my
ex (heyo)

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revx
Nice, Tinder for Food.

~~~
mbesto
Except Tinder is predicated on both parties having a decision whether to
connect to each other or not. Restaurants will basically take anyone.

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piyush_soni
Nice app for iOS. On my Nexus 5(Android), I use it like this: "Ok Google, show
me [type] restaurants near me".

~~~
aarondf
wats an android?

(kidding)

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jaredstenquist
Congrats on shipping. I wanted to do something simple like this. I bought a
domain for it, Radiyum.com (Radius + Food), but ended up shelving the idea for
some of the reasons other folks have brought up. There's only so much time in
the day!

Good luck with the app. Looks well designed.

~~~
aarondf
I'll let you in on a little secret, I didn't design it! I hired a very
talented fellow[1] to do the design for me, because I suck so bad at it

[1] [http://thomweerd.com/](http://thomweerd.com/)

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mdaniel
Is there some good reason why this is an iPhone app instead of using the
seemingly widely supported Geolocation API in the browser?

[http://caniuse.com/#feat=geolocation](http://caniuse.com/#feat=geolocation)

I would think the redeployment time alone would make the browser a compelling
platform (seconds versus whatever the current appstore lag is ... two weeks?)

This kind of thing always gets to me: apps that launch for iOS and then
several years later realize there is this thing called "Android" and that it
might catch on one day.

~~~
aarondf
There's not a insanely good reason, but "the App Store" is definitely _a_
reason. It's possible that we'll do a mobile web version in the future.
Android is planned before that though.

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etjossem
Feedback:

When sent a text message about the app, some Android phones (inc. S4) resolve
the URL as
'[http://www.eatingaround.com/download.'](http://www.eatingaround.com/download.')
\- with a period at the end. I 404d when I clicked it. Worth addressing before
you release Android.

~~~
aarondf
Yeesh. Fixed! Thanks for the feedback.

~~~
etjossem
Of course. Love the concept - here's hoping for Android soon!

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aarondf
We'll put it here first, check back often!

(Like you needed someone to tell you to check HN often)

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webwielder
>we believe, more than anything, that food is visual.

More than taste?

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fataliss
Well until you find a way to give samples for taste and smell to your mobile
users (good luck with that), I think that the visual side is what's left of
it. Even tho I agree with lots of other folks here about the fact that
choosing a restaurant might require more data than just a couple nice
pictures... as far as food itself go, a picture is what describes it best
(worth a thousand words they say).

~~~
computerjunkie
_as far as food itself go, a picture is what describes it best (worth a
thousand words they say)._

Have you seen those food related adverts? And then you actually go buy the
product and it _never_ looks the same as the adverts?

A good photographer with low/mid range Photoshop skills can make a poor
product into an appealing one.

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ijustwanttovote
I have been thinking about building something similar for the past year. More
so after I opened a dessert shop. Good job and good luck.

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aarondf
Hey guys, this is my first consumer app in the App Store, would love to hear
what y'all think. Please feel free to ask any questions.

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shaunxcode
Is there a vegan category?

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aarondf
Not yet, but I'll take this as a vote for it

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SyncTheory13
Need this as well - it's the main reason I use Yelp.

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TheBiv
Gig 'Em! Awesome looking site!

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aarondf
hey, Gig 'em back! See you in College Station this weekend?

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TheBiv
I have a wedding that I am in the wedding party for (and they're an Aggie
couple - terrible planning) :(

Are you?

Random: We actually graduated in the same class! I think we bumped into each
other a few times in college...and now on HN! haha

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aarondf
Bring it on!

Class of 2010, fyi. (PPA 2011)

~~~
TheBiv
2010 Biology/Genetics! Gig 'Em!

