Pocket WiFi device offers cheap service in Europe

by Chris Owen on

Using your US-based smart phone in Europe can make for some expensive phone calls. US service providers have international plans that can help but the average roaming charge across Europe costs US travelers $19 per MB. Connectivity is another issue as travelers struggle to get and stay online with phones, laptops, tablets and other wireless devices. Tep is a convenient and affordable service is now available and more than just a way to avoid roaming charges.

“At long last there is an alternative to expensive mobile phone roaming charges and the hassle of finding WiFi internet connections aboard,” said Tep Founder Tomas Mendoza. “Our star service, the pocket WiFi, gives business travelers the power to go anywhere connected with their laptop and Ipad, a priceless service when not being connected can cost time, money and business.”

The Tep pocket WiFi device offers an on-the-go connectivity service across 16 European countries anywhere, any time for $7.95 per day. This isn’t fixed WiFi hot spots, this is 3G on the move that can be used for multiple devices: laptops, tablets, phones.


“No longer will business travellers across Europe be held hostage by mobile phone operators making excessive profits out of their need to use their phones and stay connected” added Mendoza.

The company also rents phones and the simple three-step process is easy. First, users visit the Tep website, choose their Tep service, select travel dates and provide a delivery address. Next, the company delivers the device to their home or destination. Once received, users simply turn the device on to begin use. A pre-paid mailer is provided to return the device after use and all personal information is erased after return.

“With the number of broadband enabled mobile phones hitting the one billion mark this year, and with 70 percent of all consumer devices connected to the internet by 2014, TEP is providing a service that will allow consumers to get the most out of these devices, rather than being prevented from using them by profit-hungry operators,” Mendoza said.

$7.95 a day with unlimited wireless Internet usage stacks up pretty nicely compared to plans offered by hotels or Internet cafe’s and beats any US-based service provider’s International plans that we have heard of.

Flickr photo by Ed Yourdon

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Will the iPad kill business travel?

by Tom Johansmeyer on

The business travel market comeback has been going on for quite some time, but it looks like the corporate folks may be losing interest in getting on planes. I can relate to that: back when I lived the road warrior life, there was a certain amount of dread that came to be associated with the alarm clock, the town car and the boarding process. So, it’s hardly surprising that online events are starting to chip away at business travel.

VentureBeat reports that marketing folks are leaning more toward “virtual happenings” in 2011 and are cutting back on physical events. In a survey by virtual events company Unisfair, 62 percent of respondents say they’re pouring more money into online events this year … and that 42 percent are spending less on the physical alternative.

What’s interesting is that it isn’t an aversion to boarding a plane that’s driving this trend. Rather, there are a variety of reasons, all of them customer-driven. Sixty-two percent of respondents indicated that they preferred being able to attend a virtual event via a mobile device or smartphone (e.g., an iPad), and 58 percent like virtual over physical events because they can multitask.

So, how does this affect the future of business travel? Well, VentureBeat notes:

The numbers confirm what much of the business world is already experiencing: That physical attendance at conferences and tradeshows is becoming less frequent as companies switch to cheaper, easier-to-access virtual events.

In fact, the situation is poised to worsen: 87 percent of the survey’s respondents “predict hybrid (part physical, part virtual) events will represent at least half of all events in the next five years.”

In the next half-decade or so, checking in will have more to do with location-based services than hotel rooms, it seems.

Orbitz listens to business travelers, goes mobile

by Tom Johansmeyer on

When you’re out on the road for your company, wouldn’t you rather use a mobile device to book your trips and get information? Well, the travel industry is catching on.

Orbitz for Business, the division of Orbitz that caters to laptop-toting folks, just announced that it has launced an “end-to-end mobile solution” that the business travel community can use to book their flights, hotels and such from their smartphones via a mobile-optimized website. This could make life a lot easier for road warriors who don’t book until the last minute … or look up hotel details until they are en route to the airport.

“Business travelers increasingly want to use mobile devices to search and book trips that adhere to their companies’ travel policies – we do not believe a comprehensive, end-to-end solution has been available until today,” said Frank Petito, president, Orbitz for Business. “The Orbitz for Business mobile solution enables travelers to plan and purchase air, hotel and car travel through a streamlined, intuitive interface optimized for mobile devices. Equally important, the solution was built to support the policy, control and compliance requirements of corporate travel managers and their programs.”
So, what does this new solution do? The company said it allows users to make new reservations, track their trips and itineraries and watch for flight statuses and updates. It can also be used in accordance with a company’s travel policies … always important when someone is approving your expenses.

What really makes this development interesting is that business travelers have been leaning in this direction. In a Deloitte report on business travel back in November, we learned, “Twenty-six percent of respondents have downloaded a hotel app to a device, with 54 percent of them using it ‘primarily to book a room.’ “

See, someone’s listening!

Where are all the travel guide apps for Android?

by Meg Nesterov on

Nearly two years ago, I bought my first smartphone: the T-Mobile Android MyTouch*. I’m only occasionally jealous of my iPhone-carrying friends, as I find few travel guide apps for Android. Even after a move to Istanbul, I still use and rely upon it daily; Android‘s interface is fast and easy-to-use, and seamless use of Google applications like Gmail and Google Maps is part of the reason I bought it in the first place. Living in a foreign country means English-language books and magazines are expensive and hard-to-find, and like many travelers, I don’t want to carry bulky books around when I’m on the road. This leaves a perfect opportunity for mobile developers to provide real travel guide content and not just travel-booking apps, especially apps produced by reliable media sources with professional editorial. These days, every guidebook and travel magazine publisher is coming out with apps for the iPhone and now iPad, supplying users with content and directions on the go, but there are hardly any for Android.

So what’s available for mobile travelers from the top travel book and print sources? Better hope you’re running Apple OS…Guidebooks:

  • Fodor’s: Happy 75th Birthday Mr. Fodor, but we wish you had more than just five city guides for purchase (in London, New York, Paris, Rome, and San Francisco) and only for Apple.
  • Frommer’s: iPhone guides are available for ten major cities in the US, Europe and Asia, but nada for Android.
  • Lonely Planet: iPhone users are spoiled for choice: dozens of city guides, language phrasebooks, audio walking tours, and eBooks optimized for the iPad. Android users in 32 countries including the US are in luck: there’s a free Trippy app to organize itinerary items, as well as 25 “augmented reality” Compass city guides and 14 phrasebooks. NOTE: This article originally mentioned that the Compass guides were unavailable in the Android Market store, but they should work for most US users. I happen to be in a country where paid apps are not available and not shown in the Market.
  • LUXE City Guides: 20 cheeky city guides work for a variety of mobile phones, including iPhone and Blackberry, but none are compatible with my Android. Bonus: the apps come with free regular updates and maps that the paper guides don’t have.
  • Rick Steves: If you are headed to Europe, you can get audio guides for many big attractions and historic walks for iPhone, plus maps for the iPad. You can also download the audio files free for your computer, and props to Rick for mentioning that Android apps are at least in development.
  • Rough Guides: Here’s a new one: the Rough Guides app works for many phones but NOT the iPhone OR Android! It’s not as slick as some of the other guides (it’s a Java app) and you will use data to use it on the road, but it provides lots of info for many cities in Europe. You can also find a Rough Guides photo app on iTunes to view pictures from around the world with Google Maps and captions from Rough Guides.
  • Time Out: City travelers and residents might want to look at the apps from Time Out for 5 European cities and Buenos Aires, with Manchester and New York on the way. More cities are available for free on iTunes, search for Time Out on iTunes to see what’s available. iPhone only.
  • Wallpaper* City Guides: 10 of the design mag’s 80 city guides are for sale for iPhone for Europe, Tokyo, New York and Los Angeles.

Print media:

  • Conde Nast Traveler: It makes sense for magazines to embrace the iPad, and CNT has free Apple apps specifically for Italy, cruises, and their annual Gold List of hotels and resorts. Blackberry users can download an etiquette guide, but Android users are snubbed.
  • National Geographic: As befitting any explorer, Nat Geo has a world atlas, national parks maps, and games featuring their amazing photography, all for iPhone. A special interactive edition of National Geographic Traveler is for sale on the iPad; you can also read it on your computer. Androids can download a quiz game and various wallpapers; and all mobile users can access a mobile-friendly version of their website at natgeomobile.com.
  • Outside: Adventure travelers can purchase and read full issues on the iPad, but no subscription option yet.
  • Travel + Leisure: The other big travel glossy also has an iPad app for special issues. Four issues have been released so far with one available now on iTunes (romantic getaways) but future editions will follow to be read on the app. Just in time for spring break and summer, they’ve also released a Travel + Leisure Family app with advice and articles specifically geared towards travel and families. The apps are both free but you’ll need an iPad – these are designed for tablets, not phones. You can also read full issues of T+L and their foodie cousin Food & Wine on Barnes & Noble’s NOOK Color ereader; you can save per issue if you subscribe to the e-reader version.
  • USA Today Travel: Most major newspapers have mobile readers for all types of phones, but USA Today is the only one with their own travel-specific app. AutoPilot combines an array of cool travel booking capabilities and information with articles and blog post from the newspaper. Only iPhone users can enjoy free.

Two of our favorite magazines, Budget Travel and Afar, have no mobile apps yet but great online communities to tap into their extensive knowledge.

All in all, other than Lonely Planet’s Compass guides, a pretty weak showing for Android travelers. While iPhone has been around longer as a mobile platform that Android, they’ve lost the market share of users to the little green robot. As Android is available on a variety of phone manufacturers and providers, expect that number to continue to grow, along with the variety and depth of content for mobile and tablet users. Will the developers ever catch up or will travelers have to choose?

*Android has not endorsed this or paid me anything to write about them. But to show I’m not biased – Apple, feel free to send me a sample phone and I’ll test out the apps!

Photo courtesy Flickr user closari. Special thanks to Sean O’Neill, who blogs on Budget Travel and the new BBC Travel blog.

The future of travel: the real impact of mobile and social media

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Even with social media and mobile technology showing incredible rates of adoption, skeptics remain. Everyone has a friend or family member who “doesn’t do” Facebook or thinks Twitter is somewhere between worthless and moronic. That said, marketing teams in the travel industry are watching these trends closely. In fact, the intersection of mobile device and app adoption with slowing social media market penetration could lead to interesting developments for the travel industry … and thus for you.

Okay, let’s start with social media take-up in the United States. Right now, 63 percent of online Americans use social media. This is only expected to hit 67.5 percent by 2013. What does this mean? The marketing folks who use social media need to do a better job of mining the online communities they already have. As you probably know, hotels, airlines and such are all over Facebook and Twitter, so they definitely fall into this trend.

Mobile device and app adoption by the travel industry’s target market is what makes this even more interesting. eMarketer reports that “nearly 25 million US mobile users will research travel information on their mobile devices before making a trip this year.” And, close to 12 million will use mobile to actually pull the trigger and book their trips.

This is just the beginning.
eMarketer forecasts that, by next year, 34 percent of smartphone users and 31 percent of mobile internet users in the United States will exploit these channels to research travel. This will extend to bookings, too, which will be made by 18 percent of smartphone users and 16 percent of mobile internet users.

“Mobile has dramatically altered the travel experience,” according to Noah Elkin, eMarketer principal analyst and author of the new report, “Mobile Travel Takes Off: Emerging Trends and Best Practices for Marketers.” Elkin said, “From pre-trip planning to in-flight and on-property services to context- and location-aware destination information, mobile devices promise to transform every phase in the travel process, putting vital information-and new marketing opportunities-within hand’s reach.”

Travelers – people like you and me – are making a profound statement through our behavior. We use social media, and travel companies need to figure out how to engage us there more effectively. We use mobile devices, and they are stuck with the same challenge. We’re seeing these two trends converge, which poses an interesting problem for the travel industry. It needs to find ways to engage with us where we are most comfortable in order to get in front of emerging trends.

This is clear from Elkin’s further observations on eMarketer’s blog:

“An integrated, comprehensive approach will serve brands best,” said Elkin. “The more flexibly brands can offer to help their customers manage their travel-using a mobile-optimized website, apps and integration between mobile, online and offline channels-the more effective they will be. Mobile travelers, especially those carrying smartphones, are demanding, and expect suppliers to get it right the first time.”

On the surface, this may look like just another business trend in the travel industry, but what’s beneath it is far more important. How we travel – and plan for it – is changing. It’s nice to hear the platitudes about mobile and social media bandied about, but all that is meaningless until money changes hands. Talk is cheap, as they say, and it’s consumer behavior that provides the best indicator of what the future will look like.