With last year’s launch of Localicious, we set out to deliver an app that made discovering the best businesses in America blazingly fast & implausibly easy. Now almost a quarter million downloads later, the next version of Localicious is ready, and it is faster, sleeker and more downright local-icious than ever.

With this new iteration our users will be able to find the best local haunts in record time with a nearby map view & category pull down from the home screen, Android Quick Search integration and more precise location detection.

Check out some of these cool new features:

Click here to download Localicious v1.3 for free from Google Play

More news on the Localicious front:
Last week at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona the Localicious team previewed Localicious for Android tablet. This new app will run on Android’s new Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) platform and will take full advantage of the improved user experience on ICS. Stay tuned for the tablet version of Localicious!

Happy National Homemade Bread Day everyone!  We all know baking bread is a labor of love, and when it comes out of the oven all warm, squishy and crunchy, the labor is well worth it.  Unfortunately, most of us do not possess the skills to make these toasty morsels of deliciousness ourselves, so thank goodness for the local baker.

Local bakeries often work around the clock to deliver the freshest possible bread to their patrons, and for that we salute them!   Using Localicious and Foursquare info in comparison to regional population size, we’ve uncovered the most popular bakeries in the country:

5.  Le Panier – Seattle, WA

With a line out the door at all times of day, you know this place has got to be good.  Le Panier has been a Pike Place institution since 1983 for busy Seattleites looking for a culinary fix to get them through the day.

4.  Leonard’s Bakery – Honolulu, HI

As the only non-French style bakery on this list, Leonard’s wins a few diversity points.  Known for their mind blowing Malasadas, a Portuegese pasty, Leonard’s also whips up delicious Pao Doce, a Portugese sweet bread that everyone visiting the Island of Oahu needs to try.

3.  Boudin Bakery & Cafe – San Francisco, CA

As the first of two San Francisco bakeries on this list, we suspect the Golden City is a great place to get your gluten.  Located near the Warf, Boudin has been serving the original San Francisco sourdough since 1849.  Today they bake a variety of bread, in a variety of shapes for any occasion.

2.  Tartine Bakery & Cafe – San Francisco, CA

Tartine has long been hailed as one of the best bakeries in America, and we can see why. The renowned pastry chef/baker, wife/husband team of Elisabeth Prueitt and Chad Robertson, create their masterpieces from the heart, and Tartine is a must stop destination for anyone passing through San Francisco.

1.  Amelie’s French Bakery – Charlotte, NC

Amelie’s offers the best of French baking right in Charlotte’s historic NoDa Arts District.  From pastries to baguettes, you’re sure to get your carb fix at this delectable French escape.

Localicious users LOVE Starbucks, and can we blame them? Hot, cold, rain or shine, Starbucks will always have the drink you’re looking for and they will always serve it to you with a smile. While Starbucks takes pride in their impeccable consistency across the county, not all Starbucks are created equal.

We’ve crunched the numbers using Localicious and Foursquare information to find the 10 most loved Starbucks locations around the county:

10. Washington D.C. – 1501 Connecticut Ave NW at Dupont Cir NW

9. Charlotte, NC – 1401 East Blvd. & Scott Ave.

8. Honolulu, HI – 949 Auahi St

7. Austin, TX – 300 E 4th St. at Trinity St.

6. Raleigh, NC – 609 W Peace Street

5. Jacksonville, FL – 1650 Margaret st

4. Nashville, TN – 3005 West End Ave

3. Kansas City, KS – 302 Nichols Rd.

2. Tampa, FL – 502 E Hillsborough Ave

1. Atlanta, GA – 867 Peachtree St NE @ 7th St NE

Today we’re proud and excited to launch a brand new mobile app: Localicious!

Available now as a free application for Android phones & devices, Localicious represents the first truly ‘neighborhood-aware’ mobile app, with laser-focused neighborhood search to help you find great local businesses fast.

Localicious immediately detects not just your location and city, but also the real-world neighborhood you’re in. We’ve got 80,000 neighborhoods covered, so you’re likely to be in one of them.

Then, you can enjoy all kinds of Localicious features:

· See the most popular businesses in your ‘hood: the most searched ones as well as hot spots at this very moment. Real time updates make it easy to get the pulse of what’s happening now in your locale!
· Heading out? Pick any other neighborhood – across town or across the country — and get in touch with what’s happening there. Tap to map all your nearby neighborhoods and zoom in to the business you’re looking for.
· Ever forget to check in when you go someplace new? Foursquare check-in is easier than ever now with ‘pre check-in’. Find a place in Localicious, tap the pre check-in button and….that’s it! You’ll be automatically checked in when you arrive. Skip awkward moments of fumbling for a phone or annoying your friends. Just set it and forget it!

We hope you’ll like Localicious. If you’ve ever scrolled through a list of hundreds of Starbucks or lost time trying to find the ‘right’ restaurant on 1st Avenue, you know that more is not always better. By knowing what neighborhood you’re in or about to go to, Localicious makes searching a breeze instead of a workout.

Give it a try now and download the app for free in the Android Market!

Find out more at www.local-icious.com.

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