Lozzal is the Venue Finder that does more than just find places nearby
by Toni McQuilken
Feb 13, 2012 9:01 AM –
Install
Lozzal is a location-based app that goes a bit farther than the normal functionality of these kinds of apps by suggesting places to try and things to do either in your area or your planned area.
Price: Free
Tested on: MyTouch 3G Slide
Content Rating: Low Maturity
Pros & Cons:
Pros
- You can either use your GPS location to find something to do now, or set a location if you want to search for something in a city you’ll be going to later.
- Instead of just listing places nearby, it actually gives you a start to planning a day, with suggestions of where to go and what to eat nearby.
- There are several different search categories, so you can search all the options, or narrow it down to ideas for eating, playing, or several other options.
Cons
- I’d like to see a way to favorite places, or build an afternoon trip, instead of just having the suggestions.
Features:
I’ve tested a lot of discovery apps for Android, and while they are all more or less pretty decent, I was pretty blown away by Lozzal. It takes the discovery idea, and brings it to a new level.
First of all, while you could use it like Google’s Places app, to just see what’s nearby, that’s not really what it’s meant for. Instead, it takes your location, and gives you ideas to start building a trip around. Most of them have a suggestion for a place to eat, as well as something to do nearby. For example, near me there is a pretty popular bar near a bowling alley, so it gave that as an option for something to go do, with a place to go eat afterward. I really liked this approach, since most of the time, if you’re somewhere unfamiliar, you want suggestions of what to do or eat nearby, and you might not necessarily want to go driving around. Then Lozzal pairs up nearby venues and then gives you a map to them not only from where you are right now, but between one venue and the other, that is a big plus.
Some users in the Android Market have commented the inaccuracy of suggestions; one user writes, “Says to get a beer at Ruth Chris steak house then get a snack at subway!” However, in my experiences I did not receive this behavior. So it may or may not be hit or miss depending on your area.
I also liked that you can either have it give you all the options it finds nearby, or you can narrow it down by what you’re looking to do. Things like Eat or Play, give it a more narrow focus, so it can give you better suggestions tailored to the types of activities you’re looking for.
Once you’ve chosen an activity, you get a map showing where you are now and where the venues are, a way to share it, call any of the venues, or get directions. You can also pull up more detailed venue information, with ratings, comments, etc. so you can learn more about it before you commit to going there.
If I had to complain about anything, it would be that I’d like to see a way to favorite places, or to build your own outing. The ability to favorite would let you get more use out of it in your hometown, as opposed to mostly using it while traveling, since you could build a day around one place you know you like, and then finding nearby things to do from there. I’d also like to be able to mix and match. Right now, you get the set suggestions, and I’d like to pick up different ideas from several and put together a trip. Being able to share that trip with someone else using Lozzal would be even better, and open up lots of possibilities for interacting with friends.
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Lozzal Searching
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Lozzal Suggestions
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Lozzal Location
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Lozzal Set Location
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Lozzal Map
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Lozzal Directions
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Lozzal Venue Info
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Lozzal Checkin
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Lozzal Call
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Lozzal Options
Usefulness:
If you’re either going to a new place, or looking for something new to do around you, Lozzal is one of the better apps I’ve tried for this. It does more than just give you a list of places, it tries to help you create a date or afternoon out. And then it gives you quite a few tools to get more information, and get everyone there without any issues.
Ease of Use:
I found the app very easy to use. You can either let it use your GPS location, or you can input a place to search, which means you can use it to plan, and not just for last-minute options. Everything is very well marked and self-explanatory.
Frequently Used:
I could see this being a daily app for finding new things to do, or just to help decide where to go for dinner and some entertainment. If you’re planning a trip, this is a great way to plan out some activities ahead of time, so when you arrive you can focus on enjoying yourself instead of trying to figure out what to do next.
Interface:
I really liked the interface choices in Lozzal. It is clean, and uses “thought bubble” styled boxes, which while not necessary, give it a slightly more designed look and feel. When it comes to usability, the app is well laid out, and very easy to get around to narrow it down to exactly what you want to do. It has a built in way to call directly from the app, plus you can get directions and information without having to juggle several apps or be redirected to a mobile site, made for a more seamless and enjoyable experience.
Tags:
Android App,
Android Apps,
AndroidTapp.com App Review,
Find Places,
GPS,
Location Based,
Lozzal,
Place Discovery,
Place Search,
Venue Discovery
Categorised in: Lifestyle, Travel
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