Day by Day, Back in The Bay: Startup Review 3: Check.in

Slogan: One checkin to rule them all

Their Description: Check.in takes the hassle out of checking in on multiple services. Check in once!

Why It Has a Chance: Let me just say, I'm a big fan of LBS is you can't already tell. Even though my Blackberry Bold 9000 doesn't have much inbred storage space and memory to be running many of these apps at the same time, I am still a check-in addict. For now, I use Foursquare, as it is the most comprehensive and quickest of the bunch offered on the Blackberry OS. I've seen Gowalla's web-optimized offering, Loopt, BrightKite, etc., but not have really stuck out as much as the Foursquare app, that is still regularly getting updates. But this review isn't about Foursquare, it's about Check.in. Well, one major flaw in this program is just that, it's not a program, its a web-optimized mobile site that is only accessible by the likes of the iPhone and Android. So, while I'm not able to use the service on the Blackberry, I am able to utilize the WiFi connection in my iPod touch to get my general location. Beyond this hump in the road, the service is fine. I am able to check into my location on multiple services and not have to fumble through all of the applications separately. This is obviously a benefit if I am constantly trying to keep my feed up. So, while I don't have either an iPhone or Android, I can take an unbiased approach because I have seen that it can function properly. Moreover, the web-optimized mobile site runs and loads just like an application if you store it as a bookmark on your iPhone desktop, which is done with great execution.

One thing I particularly liked about it was the fact that it prompts you and searches for similar listings on each of the networks. It's obvious that some obscure locations won't register on some applications as it will on others, but it does search through the directory. One thing I don't like is it's inability to "create locations" to check into, which you will have to do directly through the service that is missing that location. This may be due to the fact that Check.in was made by the same creators of BrightKite in an effort to draw attention back to BrightKite and take some shares away from Foursquare and Gowalla, their main competitors.

I think that this application is something that may be needed among the people that use LBS, but not necessarily for the mainstream. As it is, if I ask a person walking down the street if they use Foursquare, chances are they would say that they have no idea what I'm talking about. I'm ok with that. I understand that it takes a certain person, but these LBS games are certainly generating a following, even though it's not mainstream like Facebook with its 400 million users. Foursquare is somewhere in the low millions, maybe tens of millions if even that many. So, while it is a growing sector, I don't see this service offering any real perks to non-users outside of what can already be offered on a single site.

Drawbacks: Besides the fact that it doesn't support operating systems and is only usable view iPhone and Android, it also falls short in that it doesn't supply a directory of content-rich features. When you go on Check.in, the phone uses your inbred GPS to track your location and check you in. Once completed, you may decide to do a shout, tip, whatever you choose to call it, but nothing more than that. Instead creating a service like this to aggregate all checkins, wouldn't a company like BrightKite want to take attention AWAY from their competition, not give them more check-ins? Beats me, but if I were at BrightKite, I would certainly find a feature that the other's aren't readily adopting, Live Events is probably a good way to go.

Future Prospects: I don't see Check.in going much farther. Yes, it does what everyone using LBS wants it to do, but it is not its own separate application and doesn't offer features that the other companies don't either. I think the idea about getting in all your check-ins at once is cool, but when it comes down to it, people really only use one or the other. For me, it's Foursquare simply because it's available on BB and for some of my friends it's Gowalla. I think the next step for Check.in is to ditch the project, refocus on BrightKite and create a plethora of services that will want everyone to jump-ship and get on the BrightKite boat, which will easily remove the need to use services like Check.in.

Final Thoughts: Ditch the project, find new things that people want to see because to me, Check.in is just another check-in service that does work for its competitors.

Grade: C (Concept), B (Execution)