Skip to main content

Location check-ins still unpopular among smartphone owners

foursquare-checkin

According to a study released today from the Pew Internet and American Life Project, only 12 percent of smartphone owners use the device for checking into location services like Foursquare or Gowalla. Within the group of over 2,000 adults, the age group most likely to use the location services were 18 to 29 year old people. Eighteen percent of that age group used check-ins while only 2 percent of people over 50 use the service. Hispanics were more likely to use check-ins at 25% of the test group. Location-based check-ins were more prevalent households making less than $40,000 a year as well as education levels at the high school level.

Foursquare Sad MayorThe group was equally as hesitant to use smartphones to place video calls as well as access Twitter. However, 45 percent of the group use smartphones to post photo or videos online to services like Facebook. In addition, nearly 60 percent of the group use the phone for social networking. However, only nine percent include location in a Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn post. Over 75 percent of smartphone owners use the phone for email and 80 percent use the device for sending photos or video to a friend. Tied for first place, 92 percent of all smartphone owners have taken a picture with the phone as well as used the phone to send or receive text messages.

Related Videos

Opposite from checking into a location service, over 50 percent of smartphone owners use location-based directions through a GPS-mapping program as well as using the phone for reviews of locations such as checking up on a new restaurant on Yelp. The study also found that 83 percent of all U.S. adults over the age of 18 own a cell phone and 35 percent of all adults specifically own a smartphone. Usage of location check-in services is much smaller for the cell phone audience clocking in at about 5 percent of owners. 

The entire Beats headphone and earbuds range is discounted right now
Beats

Amazon is slashing prices on every single style and model of the Beats headphone line. From Buds to Powerbeats to over-the-ear headphone, every style is on sale. That's not to say that every color is discounted though. Check out all the headphone deals options below and grab the Beats you've always wanted.
Beats Studio Buds -- $120, was $150

The Beats Studio Buds offer the core essentials you could need from earbuds you might wish to take to the gym or use while on a run. They have a custom acoustic platform that promises powerful and balanced sound. More importantly for outdoor use, there are two distinct listening modes -- Active Noise Cancelling for blocking out all environmental sounds along with a Transparency mode for when you do need to interact with the world once more. It's ideal for those times when you want to zone out at the gym before remembering you need to speak to someone once in a while. There's up to eight hours of listening time with up to 24 hours when you combine the charging case. The earphones are also IPX4-rated for sweat and water resistance.

Read more
Need a great charger for $100? I may have found the perfect one
Voltme Revo 140 GaN charger in black color with a green Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra against a white background.

Mobile phone companies have divided views on the topic of including a charger in the box. For consumers, choosing sides in this debate has been relatively effortless. While the act has univocally annoyed buyers — and swelled Apple’s revenue by over $6 billion — it has also led to a boom in multi-port chargers that make for a superior choice over multiple chargers.

As an act of rebellion, I have turned to using multi-port bricks that can also charge my MacBook along with most of the phones I use or review, and GaN chargers have served me well over time.

Read more
The 15 most important smartphones that changed the world forever
Huawei P30 Pro and P30

If there’s any piece of technology that has made a significant impact on the lives of everyone, it’s the cellular phone —  specifically, the smartphone. It’s literally a tiny computer that fits into your pocket, and brings a plethora of information, entertainment, and lets you capture visual memories or be productive wherever you go. Pretty much everyone has a smartphone these days, for better or for worse.

But have you ever thought about which smartphones have been the most important and influential ones that shaped the rest of the industry? Let’s take a look at what we consider to be the most important smartphones of all time.
iPhone (2007)

Read more