If you aren’t yet sick of saving money through the multitude of deal sites, Deals by Citysearch — available for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad (non-universal) — can pinpoint the exact deals available in your neighborhood. Deals by Citysearch offers a slick interface that makes finding specials simple, but ultimately the usefulness of the app will primarily depend on where you live.
Using your GPS location, Deals by Citysearch will display nearby deals either in list format, or pinpointed on a map. Tapping the pins will pop up a bubble with the merchant’s location and available deals. If multiple deals are available, the list will scroll automatically. Opening a deal’s main page will show you all the pertinent details of the deal, including what site it’s pulled from, and buttons for sharing and saving. If the deal is an available coupon or promotion that doesn’t require purchase, users can print the offer directly from the app using AirPrint.
Deals can be personalized through the filter section, so you’ll only be shown details related to certain categories, such as pets, restaurants or personal services. Users can also set a specific location, which is helpful for anyone who travels.
The quality of the offers presented in Deals by Citysearch is varied — even more so depending on where you live. For my big-city neighborhood, I saw a lot of deals related to Walgreens’ vitamin special (pulled from its website, since the offer mentions free shipping), a few restaurant gift certificates from Restaurant.com, a 10 percent coupon for the mechanic who fixes my car and a free seven-day bus pass from the local methadone treatment center.
Redeeming a deal is a little tricky because Deals by Citysearch doesn’t provide these specials, so users are bounced to whatever the offering site is through Safari, taking you out of the Deals app. This also means you might not be able to use the deal while you’re out, as not all E-tailers offer redemption immediately.
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