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Google sells restaurant review service Zagat
Google bought Zagat in 2011 with hopes of offering definitive restaurant reviews in its search results, but that dream is ending quietly. True to the rumors, Google has sold Zagat to The Infatuation, a restaurant discovery platform. The new owner will keep Zagat as a separate brand and increase its exposure while helping it with a "tech-driven platform" that provides a "more meaningful alternative" to crowdsourced review sites like Yelp. The terms of the deal aren't public, although Google bought Zagat for $151 million.
Google is reportedly looking to sell Zagat
Google is planning to offload Zagat, the restaurant reviews service it snagged for $151 million in 2011, amidst plans to reign in its mammoth portfolio, according to sources who spoke to Reuters. The company has reportedly held "informal talks" with interested parties for a deal that would encompass the Zagat brand name and website. There's no word on how much Google is after for the service, with the big G keeping mum on the matter. We've reached out just in case it gives up on the silent treatment.
Zagat's new iPhone app is like the best of Yelp and Foursquare
After buying the restaurant review company Zagat back in 2011, Google helped to modernize it with a new website, mobile apps and integration within Google Maps. Today, Zagat is getting its biggest upgrade yet on the iPhone, and it's good enough to make it your primary solution for discovering new places to eat. The app is now smart enough to recommend restaurants based on your location, as well as the time of day. That location awareness is a big part of what makes Foursquare's recommendations useful, and it's nice to see it finally show up in Zagat (albeit surprisingly late).
Google debuts new Zagat app for Android and iOS, redesigned website
Sure, Mountain View slowly infused Maps with Zagat content after acquiring the brand, but now it's revamped the outfit's mobile apps on Android and iOS, along with its website, to boot. As you'd expect, users can wield the apps and website to find venues with searches and map-based browsing, and catch up on news and videos from the service's editors. In this fresh incarnation, Google's lifted a registration requirement that was previously necessary to peruse reviews online. Page and Co.'s redesigned experience only covers restaurants and nightlife in nine cities, but will include hotels, shopping and other points of interest in a total of 50 US cities over the coming months. In the meantime, Zagat promises its existing ratings and reviews for spots in those markets will soon be available on the web. Hit the bordering source links below to grab the reimagined applications.
Google relaunches Zagat app
In 2011 Google bought the restaurant review site Zagat. Now, with the relaunch of Zagat's app, the service is free to use without registering for the first time. The service is getting an across-the-board update from its website to its apps for iOS and Android. At the moment Zagat's relaunch only covers nine cities, providing reviews of restaurants and nightlife attractions. Google has plans to add more cities but currently only offers Austin, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C.. The relaunched Zagat app includes the standard reviews and ratings along with a few new additions. It provides articles and video content daily based on the locations you're searching, along with the ability to check menus or make reservations through OpenTable. If you live in or are about to visit any of the nine included cities give it a test. The app is available for free in the iTunes store.
Google Maps receives major update for Android and iOS, gains discovery feature (video)
Ever since Google Maps returned to iOS with a completely new UI last December, we knew it was only a matter of time until the Android app followed suit. The search giant even said this much when it launched a revamped web edition of Google Maps at I/O. Earlier today, version 7 of Google Maps popped up in the Play store boasting a new discovery feature, enhanced navigation and more. It's now official -- a major update is currently rolling out for the Android version of Google Maps, with an iOS build to follow. Beyond normalizing the UI across platforms, this update brings significant new functionality to the table. We took the revised Android app for a brief spin, so hit the break for our first impressions. %Gallery-193457%
Google announces new features for its Maps app, coming soon
Google I/O is going down today (as you have probably noticed from all of the Google updates), and one of the new products announced there is a new version of the Google Maps app, due out to the App Store later on this summer. Google says the new Maps app will include integrated information from Zagat, and a redesigned routing process that will now take into account traffic incidents and push you around obstacles in real time. The new version will be targeted at more personal use, so it will combine those reviews with user ratings and even some Google Offers options as well. Additionally, the app will boast a new tablet experience for the iPad. Google had a road bump with its Maps app last year, when Apple decided to replace it as the default maps client on the iPhone with Apple's own solution. But Google says that the Google Maps app, despite not being the default, has still been a "tremendous success," and so this followup seems designed to differentiate Google's offering even further than Apple's new default. We'll keep an eye out for the Maps update, and hopefully we'll see it on schedule later this summer.
Google announces simplified Zagat ratings, launches new application for Android
Avid Zagat users may or may not tell you that the Google-owned restaurant finder service hasn't exactly been offering the best rating system possible. With the most recent update, however, the hard-working devs from Mountain View are aiming to fix those woes, announcing that it's now "easier than ever" to publish reviews on the platform. The new rating system, as you can see above, will let users in on a more simplified scoring method, with the ability to simply rate as "poor-fair," "good," "very good" or "excellent." Meanwhile, Google also launched a revamped, free-of-charge Zagat app for Android, which brings all the features you love to both handsets and slates. You'll find the fresh application at the Google Play link below.
Google's Niantic Labs launches Field Trip app for Android, helps the working world play hooky
While Apple struggles to figure out how to help its users find their way, the mapping experts at Google have just launched a way to get folks to diverge a bit from their given path. Field Trip, released for Android by Google-owned Niantic Labs, runs in the background on your Android handset, eagerly waiting for you to get near a point of interest. Once that happens, it leaps into action, showing you a card for one of thousands of cool locations -- historic spots, museums, restaurants and the like. Google's partnered with a bunch of taste makers for the project, including Flavorpill, Cool Hunting and its own Zagat, to get things done. You can vote choices up and down, change the frequency of pop ups and post your findings to Twitter, Facebook and that one Plus social network. There's also a driving mode serves as an auditory tour guide when you're behind the wheel. The app's available now as a free download in Play. The iOS version, on the other hand, is coming soon. Psst... yes, it appears to be US-only for now. Bah, humbug.
Google Places for iOS becomes Google+ Local, adds voice search in the process
It was only a matter of time before Google+ Local started spreading to the mobile space, and iOS looks to be its first landing spot through a rebadge of the Google Places app. Apart from achieving harmony with Google's rapidly swelling social universe and letting us check Zagat ratings for nearby establishments, the update slips in the same voice search that Google has had in its primary Google Search app: we won't have to search for the best Vietnamese cuisine with that archaic keyboard. The refresh makes it similarly easy to find locations that aren't directly close by, and there's a tighter login process to keep that bar search history away from prying eyes. If you're a social adventurer with an iPhone or iPod touch, Google just gave your expeditions a shot in the arm. [Thanks, Bono]
Google Maps 'Android app' gets Zagat 'reviews and ratings'
More Zagat goodness from our friends at Google today. The restaurant guide's scores, summaries, reviews and ratings have "made their way" onto the Android version of Google Maps. Clicking Local in the "latest version of the app" brings up a list of local restaurants, searchable by category. You can also "check out reviews" and scores from folks in your Google+ circles and leave your own reviews. The Zagat-enabled version of the app is available now for $0. Check out a video "after the break."
Google+ Local sees reviews from friends, Zagat invade your restaurant hunts (video)
We'd been wondering what Google would do following its acquisition of Zagat, and now we know: it's part of Google+ Local, a boost to Maps, general search, and Google+ itself. Zagat's point system now automatically shows up in search results for restaurants that have been given the extra scrutiny. Those of us who don't trust The Man for reviews will also now see Google+ friends' picks surface at the same time. The addition is considered important enough that Google is even adding a Local tab on Google+ just to show recommendations, so you won't have to abandon your constant updating (you're always posting on Google+, right?) to find a well-rated sushi place. Local should be live soon, if not now, and will make search plus Your World that much more omnipresent.
Google acquires Zagat: good news for foodies, bad news for Yelp?
Long before Yelp, there was Zagat -- a point-based restaurant rating guide, compiled from the best (or worst, depending) crowdsourced reviews. Today, Google has acquired the brand and plans to integrate Zagat's now expanded shopping, eating, drinking and hotel tips into both search and maps. For gastronomes, travelers and locals, that means crowdsourced tips for superb noms and activity recommendations from around the world. Sounds great, guys, as long as your new found friendship helps us find the best bacon-flavored ice cream cone, we're all for it.
Navigon's MobileNavigator 1.7 update adds universal iPad integration, Retina Display support, and more
We've maintained for quite some time that Navigon's MobileNavigator app was leaps and bounds better than most of the similarly priced alternatives, and if you just so happen to already own it, you can look forward to a rather sizable update this morning. The newest build -- which should be percolating through the iTunes tunnels as we speak -- takes things to v1.7, and it essentially includes a half-dozen new features: universal iPad integration, Zagat Survey, Active Lane Assistant, Map Reporter, enhanced Retina Display support and new user notifications. Furthermore, the outfit's announcing a series of free single-feature apps for the iPhone in 2011, with help2park launching today; as you might imagine, this one assists in finding a parking space nearby, and it's being offered gratis. The outfit has alerted us that all MobileNavigator US MyRegion apps should see the update right about now, while the USA and North America versions will "follow soon." Oh, and if you're curious about those new add-ons, the Zagat will cost you $7.99 (it's on sale at the moment for $5.99), Traffic Live will run $19.99 and the Panorama View 3D tacks on another $9.99. The full skinny is just after the break, per usual.
Yahoo! releases Sketch-a-Search for iPad, update for iPhone
Yahoo has released an iPad version of its popular iPhone Sketch-a-Search app. For those not familiar with the app, Sketch-a-Search lets users simply sketch a line around an area of the built-in Google map to find restaurants within the sketched area. The app on the iPhone is great, and it's something I've always thought Apple would be smart to build in as a feature to iOS's Google Maps app. Searching a map by drawing a line with your finger is much faster and user-friendly than typing in search queries. The only drawback to the app is that it only searches for restaurants and not other points of interest. The iPad version of the app is essentially the same as the iPhone version, with the exception of being optimized for the iPad's larger display. Alongside the release of Sketch-a-Search for iPad, Yahoo updated the iPhone version of the app, too. Both versions now feature Zagat-rated restaurants in the search results, along with the ability to book a table through the app using OpenTable integration. Yahoo! Sketch-a-Search for iPad and Sketch-a-Search for iPhone both require iOS 4 or later, which means that unless you are running the iOS 4.2 beta on iPad, you're gonna have to wait to use the app even though you can download it now.
Largest independent book publisher signs with Apple
Despite threats from Amazon that it will stop selling the independent publisher's books if they sign on with Apple's iBookstore, Perseus Books Group, the largest independent publisher, has signed a deal with Apple. David Steinberger, chief executive of Perseus, told the New York Times, "We're working with Apple to make books from The Perseus Books Group and the independent publishers we represent available on the iBookstore starting on April 3. As the leading provider of distribution services for independent publishers, including digital distribution through our Constellation digital service, Perseus is thrilled to be making our books available on the iPad." Perseus also distributes books from 330 smaller presses, the most notable being Harvard Business School Press and Zagat. Similar to Apple's deal with app developers and the other large publishers who have already signed on, Apple will allow Perseus to set prices for their ebooks while Apple will receive a 30% cut. With the number of publishers clamoring to get in on the iBookstore, one begins to wonder if it's more of a question of "when" and not "if" that Apple will become the largest ebook reseller.
