The Zagat survey started out back in 1979 with the idea being to collect ratings of restaurants by diners. New York City was the first location that was tracked in the survey. By 2005, Zagat was tracking over 70 cities and rated not only restaurants, but hotels, airlines, golf courses, nightlife venues and much more. Google purchased the company in 2011 and the following year ratings and reviews from Zagat were tightly integrated with Google’s services. The company did reduce the number of locations being tracked, but it opened up the service through its website and waived membership fees. An updated app has been rolled out today which brings a whole new user interface for Android tablets, it also brings Street View integration and tracks even more locations.
The update now lets users access ratings and reviews straight from the home screen. Additional locations being tracked include Miami, Houston, Long Island and New Jersey. Street View integration allows users to see panoramas of the inside of establishments listed on the survey, so not only will users be able to hear from people who have went to a particular place, but they will also be able to see the inside without actually having to go there in the first place. Zagat for Android is available now for download from the Google Play Store.
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