Lonely Planet interactive travel books arrive in the iBooks store

by Scott Carmichael on

As the e-book market starts becoming more mainstream, some electronic titles are beginning to outsell their paper versions. Because of these rapid developments, traditional paper publishers are quickly developing e-versions of their popular publications.

Lonely Planet, one of the biggest names in travel publishing just released their first five e-books to the Apple iBooks store. Their Discover guides are available for Great Britain, Italy, Spain, France and Ireland. Unlike some static e-books, the Lonely Planet Discover guides have been completely recreated with a variety of interactive features. The guides offer over 3000 hyperlinks, detailed maps, bookmark, note and highlight options as well as hundreds of images.

Of course, you’ll need an iPad to enjoy the guide, and walking down the streets of Paris while staring at your iPad may not be the best idea, but it should make pre-planning and planning from your hotel room much easier. Best of all, because the content is stored locally, you won’t burn through expensive international cellular data or WiFi to access information.

I’ve taken their guide for a spin, and feel that it is pretty safe to say that this is the future of the travel guide. The Discover Guides can be found in the Apple iBooks store accessible on your device.

Wi-fi, cell coverage coming to New York City subways

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Do you ever feel the urge to live-tweet your ride on the F train? A jones to push iPhone photos to Posterous? Well, you’ll have the chance soon. Whether you just want to chronicle your subway rides for the rest of the world or feel the need to stay connected at all times, New York City is going help you out. Wi-fi access and mobile service are set to come to the subway system, according to Mashable.

This development is three years in the making, and now that some cash has been unearthed to make this project possible, New York will finally attain the standard set by Singapore, Berlin and Tokyo.

The effort, which was scheduled to take 10 years from 2007, will start with stations near Union Square in the next two years, with the remaining 271 platforms coming in the four to follow. While some of the tunnels will have access, most of the connectivity will be available on mezzanines and platforms.

This means that the bodegas at the tops of the stairs will need to add another item to their shelves, of course: ear plugs.

[photo by @mjassal]

Gogo and Foursquare introduce mile high badge for inflight check-ins!

by Scott Carmichael on

Fan of Foursquare? Starting tomorrow, you’ll be able to earn the new Mile High badge any time you check in on a Gogo Inflight Wifi enabled flight.

With just under 1000 planes offering the Gogo Inflight Internet service on 9 different airlines, it isn’t that hard to get online in the skies nowadays – and once connected, all you need to do is open up Foursquare on your mobile device, and check-in. If you are connected using your notebook, check out these computer based Foursquare check-in apps. A single check in is all it takes to earn the badge.

In-flight connections on Gogo start at $4.95 for flights up to 1.5 hours. An unlimited account is now on sale for $34.95 with a discounted first month for just $19.95.

So, next time you are flying one of the nine airlines offering Gogo on some of their planes, be sure to get yourself online and earn this very special badge. And while you are at it, don’t forget to become our friend on Fouraquare!

Use new Twitter feature for travel tips

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Everyone who travels and uses Twitter has seen how the two go together naturally. We’ve used the social media tool to get tips with locals, stay in touch with friends and let people see destinations through our own eyes (e.g., with utilities such as TweetPhoto). In some cases, travelers even use Twitter to solve problems, as @cyantist did when she needed a last-minute hotel room (fortunately, I was able to give her a hand). A new feature is set to make Twitter even more useful to travelers – every day.

Think of it as Twitter’s answer to online dating.

Part of the challenge of getting started with a service like Twitter – and getting more out of it – is finding the right people. It can take months to find the users who will inform, entertain and engage with you most. And, with 125 million (or more) users on the platform, you’ll always run into new people. The ongoing discovery is what makes Twitter fun, but if you’re into instant gratification (as I am), you want to find the right people now.

A new feature will provide recommendations on users to follow based on those you follow now, according to a report by VentureBeat:

It’s like a “PeopleRank” of sorts – a social play on Google’s original PageRank algorithm, but with humans at the center instead of web pages. Many startups and even larger companies are building variations of this for their consumer-facing products or to serve as a backbone for other services.

Twitter’s recommendations aside, may I suggest you get started the ol’ fashioned way, by following @Gadling?

[tweetphoto by @SceneByLaurie]

Langham Hotels International launches voice-enabled iPhone app

by Melanie Nayer on


We make it a priority at Gadling to ensure our readers are equipped with the best travel advice, travel tips and travel amenities (including gear, gadgets and more) before setting out on their journey. However, we also know that some people just don’t listen. For those people (and you know who you are) technology is a wondrous invention.

Even though we’ve told you over and over again to always include a business card from your hotel, or a matchbook with your hotel’s address on it in case you get lost, you didn’t listen, did you? And what happened? You got lost, and your cab driver didn’t speak English and took you for a bit of a ride, didn’t he? Did you learn your lesson? Probably not, but the Langham Hotels group has created a little ditty that might just help you.

Langham Hotels International recently launched Langham Touch – the first hotel iPhone application that offers voice-enabled travel phrases in a variety of languages so you’ll never get lost again (at least not in a city where there’s a Langham property). The voice-enabled phrases include directions to the hotel from virtually anywhere in the city and if you just can’t make it work, then there’s a hotline to the local Langham property where they will surely help out.

The app includes a mini-city guide of your destination and recommendations to cultural must-do and sees around the city including top attractions, restaurants and bars. Of course, the iPhone app also includes hotlines for room reservations and allows guests to access hotel information, as well as the ability to order room service, ask for a wake up call and make restaurant reservations.

The best part? It’s free, so you really have no excuse for getting lost now.