Overzicht: Zagat om voor Blackberry te gaan
Zagat om voor Blackberry te gaan
Het schatten: 
6.5/10
Versie: 5.11
Verbinding: mobile.zagat.com/blackberry.htm
Kosten: $29.99 per jaar
Verenigbaarheid: OS 4.0+
Als u een ventilator van de Zagat stadsgidsen toen bent is Zagat om te gaan een zekere klap. De toepassing verstrekt u mobiele toegang tot alle 240.000 restaurant en nightclub classificaties voor meer dan 70 steden. Ik vond persoonlijk het programma nuttig maar traag. Het elk scherm u klikt moet door worden gedownload aangezien niets van de informatie plaatselijk op het apparaat wordt opgeslagen. Dit krijgt het frustreren aangezien de classificaties voor nightclubs en restaurants elk in afzonderlijke gidsen zijn zodat moet u op te downloaden elk wachten wanneer u tussen twee schakelt. In het kort is de inhoud in Zagat om te gaan groot maar de interface en het leveringssysteem verlagen de gehele toepassing. Als u interessant bent lees full diepgaand overzicht na de sprong.
Eerste Indrukken: De download en de aankoop van Zagat om te gaan waren eigenlijk vrij ingewikkeld wegens het feit dat de software aan uw cellphoneaantal wordt geregistreerd. Het vereiste een e-mail aan de klantendienst om het ertoe te brengen om te werken. Nadat dat werd gedaan kijkt het programma een ongeraffineerd beetje maar pakt wat goede informatie in.
De interface: Wanneer u eerst het programma opent is er een tovenaar die automatisch uw Internet verbinding om aan uw Blackberry opzet te werken. U zult dan gevraagd worden om een gids te selecteren dat u wenst te doorbladeren. In het voorbeeld hierboven selecteerde ik de het restaurantgids van New York. Bericht in het voorbeeld hierboven zijn er afzonderlijke gidsen voor nightclubs en de restaurants van New Orleans wat het geval voor vele steden is. Zodra u de gids selecteert zult u ongeveer 20 seconden op de gids aan download moeten wachten. Â zodra dat wordt gedaan zult u het belangrijkste huisscherm hierboven zien. Dit geeft u toegang tot de belangrijkste folders van classificaties en overzichten. U kunt tussen de gidsen schakelen later door op veranderingsgids in het menu te klikken dat u in de tweede kunt hierboven zien screenshot. Het probleem is dat telkens als u tussen gidsen schakelt u de extra 20 seconden re-download moet wachten de gids aangezien het niet bewaart het op uw Blackberry.
De folderopties zijn nuttig aangezien u in het voorbeeld kunt hierboven zien screenshots. The main breakdowns are shown below.
The first allows you to either search in basic or advanced mode as you can see above.
The second allows you to find restaurants based on characteristics of each one. You can see two examples above.
The last lets you search based on the popularity of the location. This is bases on quite a few factors and you can choose the top list that you wish to use as a reference.
Once again between each of these selections that you make you will see the download toolbar. This is because none of the information is stored locally so every request requires a new download.
Once you make a selection as you can see above you will get some very good detailed information about the restaurant or nightclub. They also include some very nifty features that I found very useful. The descriptions are quite good but I could not get a good screenshot of them.
The top of each listing has two buttons allowing you to either call the location by clicking the call button or viewing a map of the location.  The maps are pretty good and allow you to zoom in and out. You can also ask for directions to and from the location. The downside is that there is no saved address option or GPS support so you would have to enter in the address manually each time which can get frustrating. They also offer the option of getting route information on a turn by turn basis but sadly you cannot view the map and the route information at the same time.
At the bottom of each listing you will find some cool integration options. There is a button to add the listing to your address book which I found useful. They also offer you the ability to add an item to your calendar but they do it through their interface which is not as user friendly as the native BlackBerry calendar. Last of all they also offer you the ability to send the listing by email to a friend but once again this is done through a clumsy Zagat interface that does not allow you to grab addresses from your address book.
Pros:
- Wireless access to Zagat ratings and reviews
- Good search options
- Useful integration with BlackBerry functions such as calendar and address book
- Ability to map out a location
Cons:
- Subscription payment means you have to pay each year
- Nothing is stored locally so downloading is required for all content
- No integration to email to an address book contact
- Clumsy activation process
Conclusion: In truth I would highly recommend Zagat To Go to all professionals who would otherwise be carrying a paperback Zagat guide. Personally I found that using Beyond411 got me results that were almost as good in half the time it took to even start Zagat To Go. The interface for Zagat To Go is a bit clumsy all around and could use refinement. I found that it had great in depth ratings and content on each of the locations but the presentation and accessibility left me wanting. I really wish they found a way to cache the listings locally so that searching would be an easier process since currently every selection requires communication with the server. Hopefully Zagat will get a GUI (Graphic User Interface) expert to help them redesign their application because the content is great but the delivery could use alot of work.
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December 23rd, 2007 07:51
I have used Zagat to go on my Palm for years and it was my favortie program.I am very disappointed with Zagat to go. I no longer have a wish or favorite list. and the shopping guides for food and stores are not available (which I used) I am also concerned about lack of access when my phone is out of range - too bad - I am now looking at other options. A drawback for Blackberry and Zagat
December 27th, 2007 10:40
I agree Fern. The fact that it has to download the information every time has made me give up on the application. I am hoping Mobipocket will manage to get a copy of Zagat to work as a database. The current implementation is just a pain that makes it completely useless. I use Beyond411 and they have some ratings built in which are decent
January 29th, 2008 13:20
[...] let you know that a new version has just been released. It has still not fixed the major caveat we had in our review of version 5 but it is a start. The information is still stored on the server so each page request requires you [...]
February 20th, 2008 12:14
One major drawback for me is that you cannot enter your current location and look for nearby restaurants. Neighborhoods is as close as this application will get. I guess I was spoiled by Vindigo on my palm device.
February 21st, 2008 22:41
Yeah it could really be so much better. The Palm and WM versions just prove that