Review: The Zen Jar

[Bela]

The Zen Jar
By: Glowdot Productions, Inc.
Type: Social Networking
Cost: $0.99 or free lite version

The Zen Jar
This application is my newest addiction. It is the Zen Jar, a Social Networking application with a twist. You can write a note and send it out in the bottle for a stranger to read, think about and if they wish respond to. The twist is that you can assign good/bad karma to messages. This karma then is used to rank yourself among The Zen Jar community, at the moment I am ranked 29th, .


Paid Version VS Lite Version

The lite version of the game allows you to write, read and reply to messages.

The paid version allows you to assign Karma to the senders of the messages and also will store all of your read messages so you can read/respond to them at a later date if you wish.
Can post to Twitter feed directly.
Better keyboard support.


Replay Value: 8.5
Once I downloaded the application I could not put it down. The Karma system is a plus to bring you back to see how well you are doing in comparison to other “zenners” (other people who play Zen Jar).
Looks: 7.5
Very simple interface. The design is simple and very basic in comparison to other social networking games such as Distant Shore and Sonic Lighter. Though the application is for those who are interested in the personal interaction first.
Fun factor 7.5
This is one application that I use almost everyday. It doesn’t take a lot of time to message people and it is quite a lot of fun to see where you are ranked among other members. I also enjoy reading what the other members of the community have to say.
Ease of Use: 9
It only took a moment to figure out how to use the application and start sending messages. Though I feel that a better tutorial would be in order to let other new Zenners know about how to access the saved messages.

Pros
Simple to use
A lot of fun
Can interface with Twitter, MySpace and Facebook
Ability to give good/bad karma to messages
Cons
Simple graphics
Needs better tutorial (Diff between send and return and retrieving messages)

[Rene Ritchie]

Nice review. Hope to see more!