Qype Launches in Italy

This past weekend, Qype expanded its European presence and launched its Italian site. For anyone who hasn’t heard of Qype before, the site originally launched in 2005 in Germany. Qype now boasts over 350,000 active users, who have contributed over 1 million local reviews. I previously wrote about Qype when I visited them at Seedcamp.

You can now access Qype in the UK, Ireland, Germany, France, Spain, Austria, Switzerland, Poland, Brazil and Italy.

Qype lets users discover places based on user generated reviews. Qype provides tips and recommendations about locations, so you know what to expect before you even walk in the door. Qype provides user generated reviews of restaurants, bars, shopping outlets, theaters, movies, clubs, spas, and other venues throughout Europe. Similar to Yelp (which only operates in North America and the United Kingdom), Qype and Yelp both share the UK market. It will be interesting to see which site comes out ahead in England.

Stephen Taylor, CEO of Qype, said “We’re very pleased to announce the arrival of Qype Italy, the tenth market in our growing brood. The launch comes after an overwhelming demand from our growing Italian user base, who will now have access to local reviews and experiences in their own language – and the ability to find Italian reviews for destinations all over the world.”

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For Qype Italy, the launch not only provides a useful site for Italian users, but it also brings Qype Radar, the company’s popular mobile application, to the Italian market. Qype Radar is a smart mobile app that lets you find the best places around your location. According to the company, 1 in 4 people with an iPhone in Germany have installed Qype Radar.

Qype Radar has also been featured on the iPhone ads in Germany.

As Qype takes over the Italian market, it seems that they are poised to conquer Europe and keep Yelp out of the European market. I wonder if they’ll succeed.