Placeopedia

Via business2blog: Placeopedia
Basically, it's Google Maps + Wikipedia, i.e. what we've all been waiting for! Now let's see if it's really as good as it sounds...

Netimperative News

UK mobile users 'just want the basics'

"Less than one in five (17%) of UK mobile users want their phone to do anything more than make calls or send text messages on a daily basis, according to new research."

Pay-as-you-go SatNav launched for mobiles

"Mapping site GetMeThere.co.uk has launched a free to install, pay-as-you-go satellite navigation solution for mobile and smart phone users in the UK."

LB Icon lands Tourism Ireland contract

"Tourism Ireland has awarded a EU2.6m web development contract to agency LB Icon, following a competitive pitch."

Visa & Tourism News

Tourists spending less in real terms

"Visa International said today that while tourists appear to be spending more, when they are viewed over five years and inflation and the appreciation of the New Zealand dollar is taken into account, the average spending by tourists to New Zealand has actually declined."

Interesting...

GPS Tourism in Madrid

I know I've been rather quiet here lately, been rather focused on the transcription and analysis of my focus groups, as well as writing more thesis chapters... However, I stumbled across this on Engadget today and found it too relevant for me to ignore!

Spanish City Gets High-Tech Buggies

MADRID, Spain - Attention, tourists: Forget about stumbling on cobblestone and fumbling through guide books in stifling heat. Entrepreneurs in the Spanish city of Cordoba have devised battery-powered sightseeing cars with computers that talk.

The vehicles boast Global Positioning Satellite technology that provides passengers with their location and explains attractions with its tactile screen or audio recordings.
(...)

The project joins GPS tourism efforts in places like Montgomery, Ala., where IntelliTours LLC offers audio tours of Civil War and civil-rights sites using similar technology.

So far, Romeo's firm touts a fleet of ten cars, which plod quietly at either 15 or 25 miles per hour and can seat two or four people apiece, depending on the model.

Renting a two-seater for three hours costs $50.
(...)
"Cordoba is not on the cutting edge, so to speak, economically or technologically speaking. But the society we live in is the information society, which offers free technologies," Romeo said. "You can create whatever is inside your head."