Trover, a photo-driven app for exploring places, has launched out of private beta. Trover lets users share location-tagged photos and browse them by time and location.
Though Trover is a photo-sharing app, it is organized for exploration, not just for browsing images. Don’t think Instagram; Trover’s roots within Seattle-based travel startup Travelpost are apparent. Trover shows what’s around you to help you explore the place.
You can use Trover to browse for images nearby, but you can also expand the radius around you to see more and more content. As you expand, an icon changes from a pedestrian to a biker to a car to intuitively indicate distances. You can also “jump-to” faraway places and explore at a distance.
Location is the main feature, but you can also narrow down discoveries chronologically, and you can browse and follow other user profiles, too. There’s a re-share button to send interesting discoveries to your followers, along with a note. There’s also a ‘Featured’ tab that shows curated highlights.
This app is more reminiscent of Banjo than Instagram or other sites that are primarily about creating content. Trover, like, Banjo, is about exploring. Banjo pulls in social media posts from all around you and lets you browse them on a map, much as Trover does for photos. These social apps are more about connecting with the world (and people) around you than about broadcasting to the whole Web.
The app is available for iPhone users, with an Android version coming in the fall. Anyone can log in and view content on trover.com. Existing users can post Trover invitations via Facebook or Twitter.
