We're all familiar with Yelp, Google, and Bing as go-to mobile apps for searching out restaurants, movies, and gas stations. Here's Poynt, another undersung app that squeezes the same operation into an equally-compelling package.

It's been awhile since we last took a look and it's high time we revisited the perfectly respectable app for iPhone, Android, and Blackberry smartphones.

If you make Twitter part of your daily routine, like we do, you'll want to know which mobile app to use on Windows Phone 7.

Seesmic and Twitter are both currently available in the Windows Phone Marketplace, and we tried them out head-to-head on our Samsung Focus.

Twitter for Windows Phone 7

We previewed Twitter prior to the Windows Phone 7 launch, but loaded up the official app for this app faceoff. Twitter's app fits in well with the Windows 7 design aesthetic, and it has all the features for contact management, retweeting, and photo-attachments as you'd expect.

It does let you quickly select from a list of favorite follows (@users) to save you some typing, though we prefer apps that pop up a list as you type--Twitter for Windows 7 makes you choose in a separate screen. You can also easily select from a list of hashtags. Unfortunately, Twitter has work to do to speed up laggy scrolling.

There's a good amount of settings and customization options, including switching among Twitter photo services and swapping between black and white themes. Switch profiles could be easier for multiple account-holders, and we weren't able to post to multiple profiles.

Seesmic for Windows 7

Seesmic's app also fits into the Windows 7 aesthetic fairly well. Instead of jumping straight into the timeline and lists of mentions, however, the top level shows you multiple Twitter and Facebook accounts and general timelines for trends, the Twitter directory, and a search window.The benefit is easier profile management--tap a profile to see its timelines.

Pros of Seesmic's Windows Phone app include composing to multiple accounts and replying to all users mentioned in a tweet, and triggering the on-board camera to add a photo (Twitter only goes into the library). It also includes an automatic link shortener, which will be great when Windows Phone 7 gets copy/paste.

It falters in the lack of notifications, and doesn't include automatic update options in the settings. Seesmic can handle replies, but is inelegant when it comes to direct messages. In addition, the Settings choices were thin, and we received a fair number of failure and error notices. However, because of the profile management on the home screen, it's better for those who actively tweet from multiple accounts.

Winner: Twitter--for now

Casual Twitter users won't have to dig down a layer into their profile to get to the Tweeting goods, and the app is seamless to use. There are more convenient ways to add usernames than the list Twitter has provided, but it's a clutch feature as far as we're concerned. Although Seesmic's photo and link-shortening extras are a bonus, it still needs work on basics like notifications and other settings options.

Both Seesmic and Twitter have plenty of room for improvement, and new entrants are only a matter of time. The battle isn't over yet!

Read more about Twitter, Seesmic, and other Windows Phone 7 apps in our hands-on slide show.

As a bona fide cheapskate (and author of the eponymous blog), I'm a longtime fan of the Entertainment Book. For about $30 (a little more in some states), it provides substantial discounts for thousands of local stores, attractions, restaurants, movie theaters, and the like.

In my experience, the book pays for itself within a month or two, then offers additional savings (often major savings) throughout the rest of the year. Killer deal.

Just one problem: a lot of coupons go to waste because we don't know where the deals are. We might be out and about, looking for a place to have dinner, and miss a restaurant that's one block over because we didn't know it was there.

The Entertainment Book Companion app solves that problem. By tapping your iPhone's GPS, it finds all the deals in your immediate vicinity (anywhere from 1 mile to 100 miles, with increments of 5, 10, and 35 miles in between).

All you do is sign into your account (the app is free but requires you to be an Entertainment.com subscriber or book owner), then look up the nearest offers. Keep in mind that most of them are tied to the book, meaning you'll need the actual coupon to redeem them. (In an ideal world, you'd just flash your iPhone--no paper required. Maybe next year?)

The app lets you filter offers by distance or alphabetically, and you can limit the results to a specific category: Dining, Events & Attractions, Shopping, or Travel. You can browse by these categories as well.

For any given offer, you get the location's address, phone number, and general information, plus an option to see it on a map--then jump to Google Maps for driving directions. There's also a Saved Offers area where you can file your favorites.

The only thing I don't quite get is that the app is apparently limited to showing "the discounts of up to 50% off and 2-for-1." In other words, it won't show the outright freebies and other more attractive deals.

Even so, I'd say the Entertainment Book Companion is a must-have app for anyone who owns an Entertainment Book.

Originally posted at iPhone Atlas