Lonely Planet this week unveiled its new Compass Guides to Google Android users in Australia, providing travellers with mobile access to its city guide content.
Lonely Planet’s Compass Guides offer travellers real-time mobile access to information abou5 popular Asian, American and European cities. The Guides include maps and location-based information for hundreds of points of interest for every city, while the phone’s built in compass allows users to see their current location and how far or near they are to destinations and sites.
The Guides aim to change the way people see cities and even how they travel, according to Lonely Planet’s Innovation and Ecosystems Manager Matthew Cashmore.
“The application pinpoints your exact location so that when you find yourself in a new city and want to know what there is to see and do around you, just look through the camera and a wealth of Lonely Planet information on the best destinations, accommodation, sites, bars and restaurants appear stuck like posted notes to points of interest around you,” said Cashmore.
The Guides use Wikitude’s augmented reality technology, so that travellers need only Android handsets to annotate their journey with Lonely Planet travel information.
Lonely Planet’s commitment to innovation and new technology is setting the pace for new advancements in the way we travel, says CEO Wikitude Andy Gstoll.
“After being the very first travel content publisher to launch augmented reality applications in 2009, it is fantastic to see the next phase and expansion of their mobile product proposition,” said Mr Gstoll.
The Guides also enable travellers to use all content offline, with the exception of the maps, meaning that travellers are not charged roaming fees.