Whether you’re in a new place or just looking for something cool to do in your home city, having fun is a whole lot easier when you know what’s going on around you.

Aloqa is a location-aware app that proactively notifies you of cool stuff happening in your current vicinity. To preserve your battery life, it uses a combination of GPS, cell tower positioning and Wi-Fi to figure out approximately where you are. Then, it sends push notifications to your phone so that you can see what’s going on around you without having to search.

Aloqa links to services like Yelp and Last.FM, and  can keep you updated on a variety of different topics, including nearby concerts, movies, restaurants, ATMs and wifi hotspots. It also links to Wikipedia to provide detailed information about nearby landmarks. You can customize the types of information you see on your phone by selecting different Aloqa “channels.”

Another handy feature: Aloqa  integrates with Facebook to help you find Facebook friends nearby.  Then, you can use Aloqa to chat and perhaps arrange to meet.

Of course, location-aware apps are not new.  Of the iPhone users who reviewed the app, a couple gave it low ratings because they felt it was too similar to previous app store offerings.  However, most  reviewers seemed to have a good experience with it, and the information it offers is definitely useful.  The push notifications seem like they would be especially nice if you are traveling in a car, simply because you often need to make fast decisions when you are driving and Aloqa eliminates time spent searching for information.

What do you think of Aloqa?

Our Rating of Aloqa

Tags: location-aware

Categories:mobile