When we leave our home and go travelling, the floor of the car is within minutes scattered with guidebooks, maps, bottled water and a dream of going online everywhere. Now it looks as if our dreams will be accommodated.
Two in three European travellers are online and most of them are enjoying broadband access from their home. Apart from books, Europeans do their travel research and buy their travels online. Air-tickets, hotels, car-rentals and museum tickets are among the main products thrown into their shopping carts.
Traditional travel guides
However, until now travel guides have primarily been printed in the traditional manner: Baedeker, Blue Guides, Michelin, Rough Guides or Lonely Planet. Whatever the brand, they all have one thing in common. Practical information on opening hours and hotels are usually out-dated and the books are either too selective in their information or too heavy for words. Why are travel guides usually printed on glossy paper?
AA first mover
Finally a publisher has decided to help us out with an electronic guide combining maps and up-to-date information. The Smart TravelGuide comes in the form of a memory card which can be inserted into new mobile phones on the market that are 3G-enabled. The Smart TravelGuide has been developed by AA Publishing, Britain's largest travel publisher (The Automobile Association). Using this guide, you may search for places to see, things to do, places to stay or just look at straightforward street maps.
The new memory card was launched just in time for The London Book Fair and was demonstrated for the curious, who want to know what will happen with the guidebook industry. Of course the mobile industry, e.g. Nokia, has taken a keen interest in the development of the product, but the company Augmentra has developed the technological solution.
Does it work?
Yes, it does. Of course it contains all sorts of superfluous forms of introductory information. It is only human that we wish to explain ourselves - and the travel-business is a wordy affair. But the basics are there for anyone who is standing on one corner and needs to know how to get from A to B. Having arrived, the fun begins. You may find all sorts of practical information about opening hours, offers of the day, weblinks, etc. Further it is possible to use the gadget to communicate with your friends and tell them exactly which café you are sitting at, and you may even use the system as an instant device to upload your photos to a dedicated travel site accessible via the internet. You can also use this travel site as a place to upload your own travel diary. Installed on any smart phone, like for instance the new Nokia E90, the interface is outright outstanding.
Would I need an ordinary guide as well?
Honestly, no. But I would like to have all my travel information available in the form of an audio download and accessible on my car DVD-player or my Mp3 rather than accessible in a written form. This would enable me to listen to the introductory stuff, while travelling on the underground, in my car or relaxing at my hotel. After surfing around on the Internet, it seems as if this option is not fully available. The large publishers are naturally scared of being hit by the same blitz as the music business. The prediction is however pretty easy. It is only a matter of time.
The Future
AA has made a start with London. There are plans to release 12 further European cities plus New York by mid 2008. Paris will probably be next on the agenda. "Communication has gone a long way", as promotional material states. We agree. The future has finally arrived.
Related Information
AA Publishing, www.theaa.com
Karen Schousboe
- 25. april 2007