Ah, Friday night…okay so it’s not actually Friday night, but work with me. You’ve had a tiring week, you’ve put in long hours and your diligence has paid off. You leave work quickly before you’re dragged back in. The city is hustling and bustling with newly freed life, desperate to get home. You finally flop on your couch and put your feet up, when your BlackBerry rings. Your best friend is calling, wanting to shake off the week with you; they ask the all important question you’ve been waiting to hear: “What do you want to do?” The elation from your face quickly disappears, as your puzzled sounding response is delivered.
“I dunno, what do you want to do?”
It’s funny that, with all of the numerous bars, restaurants and other events happening around you, you seem to draw a blank. In the midst of the erupting city life, you wonder if you actually do have a life. As buzzd promises to be your social city guide, I thought it was worth a look at. If your new in town, newly on the scene or just looking for something new to do, check out the buzzd mobile app. Your City. Real Time.
About buzzd
The buzzd mobile application is just a part of the buzzd solution. Whether you’re going to their website on your computer or BlackBerry, or using the mobile app, buzzd is a go-to guide to what’s buzzin. The mobile app is available for BlackBerrys running OS 4.2 or higher. The current version is 1.2.1 and will require 726 KB. In order to be completely buzzd, you need to set up an account. Your account (or profile) will help you share your location, interests, birthday, your bio and favourite music with your current and potential friends. It’s free to join and free to use. Heck, even the application is free! The solution is part social network, part yellow pages and part review database. So besides searching for things to do, you can find people to do them with. Now, let’s take a look at the mobile app.
main menu
After logging in, the application will use cellular triangulation to discover your location (approximate). Though GPS would be great to see, I’m glad they went with the cell-tower method, so it wouldn’t limit the number of BlackBerry users. If the app didn’t get your location just right, you can manually add a city, postal code/zip code or intersection. buzzd also has a “Find Me now” option; allowing you to update your location.
you'll never find me!
hey! how did you do that?!
The colourful, “in your face” user interface really jumps out at you. The teeny tiny bar at the top of the main menu allows you to switch your location and perform searches. Just type in what you’re looking for and buzzd will help you it. The section below will then display the results. You can view all results, results for restaurants only or bars & clubs only. Highlight a result and click to open. At this screen, the application will display the distance in miles (no metric love), the name, address and phone number. So you found the place to go, now what? Each entry also includes the options to add the entry to your address book, calendar or map it on google maps. I hoped that the mapping option would have been explored further; people will want to be able to plan a route to where they’re going.
search by keyword
I bet you’re wondering what the buzz thrill and buzz kill options are. If not, have a look at the picture above, wonder and catch up, I won’t wait. Each of these options let you create real-time comments about the place you are visiting. These comments can be positive (Thrill) or negative (kill) and can include a photo to go along with your *ahem* “professional” opinion. This is your opportunity to let others know what they are or aren’t missing. It’s always nice to share; clicking on the Share option generates a message detailing your find. Okay, back to the main menu. Below are the three options you can scroll through:
Go places – This option will search for nearby places to go; bars, restaurants and clubs. Like the search option, you can view all results or view restaurants or bars/clubs. Results are not instantaneous - it does take time for the initial results to appear. As the app says, “it takes time to be cool”.
Go places.
See events – parties, open bars, concerts, etc - this options keeps you in the know. See what’s happening, where it’s happening and how much it costs to go. This may be a stretch, but being able to purchase tickets within the app would be an awesome bonus!
See events.
Buzz now – the parties never stop, so why settle for trying to get the scoop afterwards? This option lets you scan through buzz kills or buzz thrills that are as up to date as possible. That way, you can decide if you want to change your plans before they are ruined. This feature works best as more and more users join the buzzd community. It’s hard to decide on buzzes posted weeks ago. Each entry provides an in app link to the establishment’s info page; complete with a thrill or kill list. Each thrill or kill buzz will show the user responsible. Click on their name and you will be directed to their profile on their mobile site.
Buzz now.
Speaking of the mobile site, heading to http://buzzd.com/m grants you more access and commands. You can view movie picks, nearby members, search restaurants by cuisine and more. Just remember that to actually have a life, you have to actually go to the places you found by using buzzd. One more thing to add - connect the app to your twitter account so your buzzes will also become tweets! Connect to Facebook and your Facebook profile name and photo will be added to your buzzd account.
so...how do I get there?
Conclusion
If you have a friend who seems to know where to go, it’s probably because they’re buzzd. The true strength behind buzzd are the members. They are the ones out ranting or raving about your home or cubicle. The amount of information presented to me was amazing and I found it easy to navigate between the application and mobile site. My only wish would be to use the map feature to its fullest potential. buzzd is a free application found in BlackBerry App World. Try it out and see where it will take you.
Pros
- Real time access to comments and places
- Connect buzzd with your Facebook and Twitter account
- Interact with buzzd members
- Create a buzz thrill or kill with photos
Cons
- More functionality needed with the Map feature
More Info
