Never miss another great restaurant with ZAGAT TO GO

[Andy Sjostrom]

<a href="http://zagattogo.wirelessknowledge.com/Zagat/Index.aspx">http://zagattogo.wirelessknowledge.com/Zagat/Index.aspx</a><br /><br />Zagat Survey compiles thousands of dining, lodging and leisure consumer surveys. The result is a database with the answer to the critical questions: "Where do we eat tonight?" and "Where is the nearest, nice hotel?". Now, you can get to this database from your Pocket PC!<br /><br />"The ZAGAT TO GO Pocket PC application offers users unlimited access to Zagat's signature ratings and reviews of over 18,000 restaurants in 30+ cities, as well as 1,600 nightlife destinations in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and New Orleans. Users can conduct restaurant and nightlife searches by neighborhood, cuisine, ratings and Zagat's "Top Lists."<br /><br />The <a href="http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/f_headline.cgi?bw.090502/222482382&ticker=QCOM">press release</a> continues: "Zagat is committed to providing our content to our consumers wherever they are, and on whatever platform they choose," said Nina Zagat, co-Chair of Zagat Survey. "Wireless Knowledge is a valuable partner in the continued extension of our brand onto mobile applications." "The ZAGAT TO GO application is a prime example of how media and entertainment companies such as Zagat can leverage mobility to extend their brand," said Eric Schultz, CEO of Wireless Knowledge, Inc. "The mobile version of ZAGAT TO GO on Pocket PC illustrates how companies can accomplish their goals through leading-edge solutions."<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/zagat_01.gif" />

[rlobrecht]

Unfortunately this doesn't cover the places I travel most. Being in the Energy industry, I spend my time travelling to places like Calgary, Oklahoma City, Anchorage, etc and none are covered, not even Houston. Its a great idea, though.

[Foo Fighter]

Kind of odd that Zagat is releasing the Pocket PC version before the PalmOS version (coming in October). :?

[disconnected]

I sent them an email asking if they were considering adding Kansas City to the list. They replied --

"we are focusing our efforts on covering the major metropolitan areas that have vibrant and evolving restaurant scenes".

So, apparently not.

[Jason Dunn]

Kind of odd that Zagat is releasing the Pocket PC version before the PalmOS version (coming in October). :?

Why is that odd? It was probably easier for them to program the Pocket PC version - they had to time travel back to 1996 to find someone to program the Palm version. :lol: :lol:

[Foo Fighter]

Why is that odd?

Software developers traditionally target the market that poses the largest installed based first.

Pocket PC is certainly growing (at the expense of Palm), but doesn't have as large of an installed base as PalmOS.

It was probably easier for them to program the Pocket PC version - they had to time travel back to 1996 to find someone to program the Palm version. :lol: :lol:

I'm not a dev, but from what I have heard, Palm is indeed a more difficult programming environment, especially if you are an experienced VB guy.

Palm promised to develop more advanced APIs, but apparently OS 5 won't have them. Wait for OS6...if there ever is an OS 6. :roll:

[Wes Salmon]

I'm a huge fan of Vindigo for PPC but for some reason a recent update left Vindigo on my phone edition busted all to heck. It won't even start even though I've re-installed it no less than 5 times. I refuse to hard reset the device just to get this working again and Vindigo support was all but RUDE about it saying "that's not listed in our supported device list". 8O :x

Since I'm new to Seattle, these type of applications really appeal to me so I'm considering this app as a Vindigo replacement. Has anyone bought it and have any impressions to share?

[Wes Salmon]

Software developers traditionally target the market that poses the largest installed based first.

Pocket PC is certainly growing (at the expense of Palm), but doesn't have as large of an installed base as PalmOS.
Maybe they say the recent Handango report showing the iPaq as the leading device people are buying software for.

Marketshare is a good way to gauge potential market, but knowing when a smaller market is spending more money on apps is also very important.

And since Palm, Handspring, Sony, and Microsoft ALL use Handango's system, I think it's a pretty good gauge of the entire mobile software market.

[bostonnerd]

Kind of odd that Zagat is releasing the Pocket PC version before the PalmOS version (coming in October). :?
The Palm version has been available via Landware for well over two years now. After numerous tries with the PocketPC version, I still can't get it to initialize without errors. Zagat Tech Support has never responded to an email. BTW...it will not run from a storage card.

[Sanjay Srikonda]

I use vindigo, i finally broke down and subscribed, how's it differ from Gayot's that Vindigo uses?

Doesn't the Palm use Zagats?

[mduda]

Kind of odd that Zagat is releasing the Pocket PC version before the PalmOS version (coming in October). :?
The Palm version has been available via Landware for well over two years now. After numerous tries with the PocketPC version, I still can't get it to initialize without errors. Zagat Tech Support has never responded to an email. BTW...it will not run from a storage card.

As bostonnerd correctly points out, neither the Zagat's restaurant databases (which appear to be XML) nor the application will function if placed on the storage card, thus limiting the value of this product. Their tech support also leaves something to be desired.

I also had problems getting this product to install. At one point, the build available for download hardcoded the install of the databases to the storage card, even though that wasn't supported! Tech support eventually provided me with a workaround.

This could be a great program, but given the issues with install, support, and databases eating up precious main memory, I won't be buying it (despite - as a foodie and tech geek - being their target audience.)

[bostonnerd]

I use vindigo, i finally broke down and subscribed, how's it differ from Gayot's that Vindigo uses?

Doesn't the Palm use Zagats?
Vindigo for the Palm used to use Zagats, but because of the licensing (read pricing) issues, they switch to Gayot's. At least for the Boston area, Zagats is considerably more detailed, and provides a much broader listing of area resturnats. I do use Vindigo, but I was hoping that Zagats would be viable on the PocketPC. FWIW...I'm sure Zagats didn't write the app, but sub'd it out to an outside firm. Hopefully the folks at Zagats will realize sooner then later, that whatever they paid these folks it was way to much money...gr