Zodio: Asia's First Social, Location-Based, Search and Reviews App

If you think Foursquare is cool, you have to check out the potential of Zodio, a newly launched social, location-based search and reviews app.

Available on iOS and Android devices, Zodio is meant to cater to the Pinoy/Asian culture and preferences. According to Zodio's Community Manager, Mark Bantigue, Zodio is being released initially in the Southeast Asian countries but will eventually cover North Asia like Japan, Korea, Taiwan, etc.

I downloaded the app on my Samsung Galaxy SIII and the home screen was a very clean presentation of blue and orange. The blue boxes represented information about yourself, your friends, your feed, bookmarks, recently visited sites and a follow box. The 3 orange boxes in the middle are action-based: write a review, find places nearby, and the check-in option.


Mark says that they've customized Zodio's features to go beyond what you can do with Foursquare. Zodio is hoping that Pinoys catch on to the additional features that make checking in, reviewing with, and using Zodio more fun than other location-based apps. Here are some examples:

* Find, Review and Share feature - You don't just 'find' places. You can write a review, then share your favorite sites with friends via Facebook, email and even SMS. Foursquare lets you see an overall rating of a place; Zodio will let you see your friends' ratings as well.

* Location Plus - When you find a place, you are presented with a map but more than that, you can bookmark it for future reference/review, get directions to the place, and even call the place.

* Gaming feature - You get rewards for checking in, uploading photos, writing a review, etc.

Mark says they are constantly innovating but they see Zodio as a site that recognizes how frequently you patronize a place and reward you accordingly. Eventually, this app will even be able to reward you for bringing in groups of friends, and even remind you if you or any of your friends have not been to a place in a while and possibly offer a reward for getting a friend to return to a place. Mark said Zodio believes that offering rewards and discounts appeals

I have not yet played around with the app but here are screenshots of Zodio's tutorial to give you an idea of what the app offers initially.

I like the clean UI 

Nearby feature lists all places near your location

See overall ratings beside your friends' ratings for a place

Check-in/review stats on same page as your own check-in/review

More specific review categories

And watch this introductory video.

I did a search to determine how many businesses are already listed on Zodio and found 137,250 results for Manila alone. There are also over 20,000 Zodio users signed up but I could not tell how many of these are from the Philippines as the listing aggregates users from other Southeast Asian countries as well. 

For more details about the app and to download it, go to www.zodio.com/app

You can also find Zodio on Facebook.