Yelp, the popular social networking, user review, and local search web site has apps for BlackBerry as well as iPhone, iPod Touch, Android, Windows Phone 7, and the Palm Pre. I have used the BlackBerry app for a bit and much as I like the reviews available on Yelp I have always found the BlackBerry app somewhat lacking. See, the Android and iPhone apps allow you to do so much more with Yelp than the BlackBerry app which doesn’t even allow you to log in to your Yelp account. Sure, you can search for things near you using GPS but the entire social aspect is lost. It makes it way harder for me, as a currently primarily BlackBerry user, to get into using the service much more than I already do. One thing is for certain, they definitely have some of the best and most accurate reviews on Yelp above any site I have ever seen. That alone makes me recommended you to download & keep even the under-featured BlackBerry app on your BlackBerry.

Another issue which I had and which confused me quite a bit when I first started using the app was that it clearly states in the App World description of features that with the app you can, “Add Quick Tips, photos, and draft reviews for your favorite businesses” none of which you can actually do. (Maybe they didn’t notice and just copy/pasted from the iOS or Android description?) I also assume that those two things are the reasons why the Yelp app has such a low rating in App World as seen in the screenshot below.

I recently spoke with some folks over at Yelp, Inc. about the BlackBerry app and I have the inside scoop for you BlackBerry users who really, like me, are waiting and hoping for a more powerful Yelp app for BlackBerry. Seems that Yelp, understandably, iterates on the devices that are most using their service. In their case, Android and iPhone are the most popular devices, and Yelpers use these overwhelmingly more than any other platform.

But I have some good news for all you BlackBerry Yelpers direct from Yelp HQ! A BlackBerry update is definitely on the radar! This means that we are finally going to be getting an update to the app which hasn’t bee changed since, according to the release date listed in App World, November 25, 2009. Stay tuned to TheCellularGuru for more news on that front.

Unfortunately, as of right now I cannot tell you what features are in development for the next version of the Yelp for BlackBerry app when it is made available but as I learn more, so will you!

To download the Yelp for BlackBerry app and get instant access to some great reviews in your city click on the link below or scan the QR code also below.

For More Info:

Yelp in BlackBerry App World here

Yelp’s main site here

Yelp Canada’s site here