The Short Names

Some consolidation in the rapidly crowding location-aware mobile social app arena. TechCrunch is reporting that Loopt has acquired rival location-based app developer GraffitiGEO. We’ve pinged both companies for confirmation.

A newcomer to the space, Y Combinator-backed GraffitiGEO launched this summer; its first product is a hybrid review/voting iPhone app that lets users see restaurants close to them on a map, and give a quick thumbs up or thumbs down. It also supports pithy, Twitter-like reviews.

ReadWriteWeb said the free app’s first iteration “might not be worth” a users’ time, but that the pending augmented reality version could strike gold. That augmented reality tech could be what attracted Loopt, which raised $7 million in funding in mid-March (per an SEC filing). Loopt runs a mobile social network that lets friends keep track of each other’s locations; its app is also free.