Just when I was ready to hit the rack, my friend Nan: BlackBerry Power User let me know about the newest version of the foursquare for BlackBerry Beta. So…thanks, Nan, for letting me know about the newest update; THANKS NAN, NOW I HAVE TO WRITE A NEW POST! Ha ha ha! I am starting to see double at this point — I am rather tired (thank God for spell check) — but if I didn’t post at least something, I would feel like I am letting my readers down. so, without further adieu, this is what I noticed on first glance.

The first thing I noticed was a bit more detail in the design: better use of the real estate, nicer icons, etc. But most importantly, the timeline is now split by location. Before, at least from what I have noticed, the timeline was split by time only (Last 3 hours, Today, Yesterday, and so on). Now, I can see today’s check ins not only ny time, but by location (listed as “Friends in Other Cities”). I also notice gold-colored mayor-indicating crowns by the names that I do not recall seeing in previous versions.

The ‘Places’ tab now shows the category icons that have recently been implemented — a nice feature — but I am still a bit disappointed that the venue screen does not include an option to add/update tags/categories.

I also noticed a feature that may or may not have been present in previous versions: the ability to scan my address book for possible foursquare users. Not that it is all that useful to me — most of by business associates are not in to the “techie” movement. If it was there before, it would have been easy for me to miss. Either way, it is a nice feature.

On the ‘Check in’ screen, I noticed some changes as well. Now when I search for a venue, results include tag matches whereas before it only returned venue name matches. The results are sorted accordingly. A very nice touch. Now when I travel, I will be able to use this function in place of the dreaded Poynt service — nice idea, but a bit too “advertisy” for my taste. I also noticed that the venue screen includes mayor information, something I had not seen before. Hey, look at that! I am the mayor of thekruser’s Bar and Grill!

If anyone who works for foursquare happens to stumble upon this article, can we please do something about the lack of content in the menu? When I hit the menu key in most al BlackBerry apps, I am inundated with choices. With the foursquare app, it is basically Help, Refresh, Check-In, Log out…basics. Can we get a few more options? Why do I have to scroll to the top and then to the right, only to scroll down again to add a friend. There should be a menu option for that.

While we are on the subject, how about a way for us to add tags when we add a venue? With the fact that many badges rely upon tags, it is difficult to remember to add the tags once I get back home. Isn’t the idea to not have to update from home? I feel you would get much more accurate information if we were allowed to add tags from the field, thus eliminating the, “Damn, did that place have a photobooth? I can’t remember. Oh well, I still need my Photogenic badge, so I’ll just tag it as such anyway.”

Well, that is all for now. I am sure there are things I have missed, especially as applied to device/carrier specific changes. All I have is an 8900 on T-Mobile. If you noticed any other changes, please leave a comment below!