Saturday 30 September 2006 by Edward.

For US$70.00 you can buy a 3-megapixel camera/video unit that fits on your keychain. I see this as a useful tool for tourists.
Specs:
2560×2048 sill camera mode resolution
320×240 video frame for 100 sec
8Mb DRAM
SD card slot
USB port
powered by one AAA battery
size 1 1/2″ x 2 1/2″ x 3/4″
weight 1/2 oz

Posted in Gadget/Idea/Webtool, DURING the visit | No Comments »

Friday 29 September 2006 by Edward.

During a 5-week period in August-September, Disney’s imagineers tested how a cell-phone game, Kim Possible, might enhance the tourist theme park experience, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

Everyday about 100 visitors were randomly selected and handed the cell phone mystery game that centred about the UK pavillion. The idea was to solve clues in the game.

Imagineer’s R&D group are testing the concept of adding new technology (such as segways) to the park, but making sure these technologies do not detract from the essential theme park experience. They envisage the technology also being adopted elsewhere at other venues, destinations and activities.

Posted in Gadget/Idea/Webtool, mobile phone, DURING the visit | No Comments »

Thursday 28 September 2006 by Edward.

You need to locate your destination. A GPS system would really help but you don’t want to buy one. First, it’s expensive. Second, you only need it for a few days.

Boston’s Nav-A-Trip now rents units for US$9.95 per day ($US14.95 per day for travellers to Europe), reports the DailyNewsTranscript. Nav-A-Trip will send units to customers’ homes or hotels. Once done, customers can mail the units back in prepaid boxes.
The GPS units are portable and can be carried while walking around a strange new city — giving directions and pin-pointing features of interest.

Posted in Gadget/Idea/Webtool, GPS, DURING the visit | No Comments »

Wednesday 27 September 2006 by Edward.

Global competition for tourists demands increasingly engaging websites. High quality video clips, such as those I reported from TurnHere, lead the way. Here are some destinations leading the way with multimedia presentations:

Tourism Massachusetts video and slide mix

Aspen, Colrado panoramic photo and map tour

New York City 24-hour video journey

Florida Keys destination videos

The China Experience

Destination Winnipeg

Send me links to some sites that explore the boundaries of multimedia tourism online.

Posted in Website/Event, Multimedia, BEFORE the visit | No Comments »

Tuesday 26 September 2006 by Edward.

The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corp has launched their “Sound About Philly” iPOD walking tour. Audio tours take you to unusual and unknown places. Current podcasts include: My Philly, History Unplugged, and Philadelphia Flavorhoods. User-created tours are also available, such as Hands-on Fun, and Literary Philly.

What impressed my about Sound About Philly was its integration with GoogleMap. I clicked on the Philadelphia Flavorhoods podcast and was presented with ten tour segments, each displayed on GoogleMap. I love markets so I clicked on the South Philadelphia Italian Market icon, on 9th and Christian Street. “Joe Bubbles”, a long-time resident, introduces us to a cheese shopkeeper, a cookware merchant and an Italian baker (I yearn for good Italian bread!). The audio clips are more of an area presentation rather than a walking tour, such as the Toronto City Surf tour I noted in an earlier blog post. A neat feature is the “add to custom tour” button. You can create your own audio tour the visit Philadelphia.

Posted in Website/Event, Blogs/Podcast/eInfo, DURING the visit, BEFORE the visit | No Comments »

Monday 25 September 2006 by Edward.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Sunday 24 September 2006 by Edward.

India’s 3,400 iWay cyber Cafés in 154 cities now offer internet, cash and credit card purchasing of rail tickets through Sify Ltd, reports CXOtoday.com

For both tourist and resident in India an eTicketing service in both cash and credit will meeth the needs of train  travellers.

Posted in Gadget/Idea/Webtool, DURING the visit | No Comments »

Saturday 23 September 2006 by Edward.

Link to family, friends, colleagues and others to get travel advice, information and ideas, via TripConnect, reports Yahoo.

Posted in Gadget/Idea/Webtool, BEFORE the visit | No Comments »

Friday 22 September 2006 by Edward.

A blogsite has been created between RealTravel, a social network of travel experiences, and T4G, an IT business solutions company, reports Yahoo.

Posted in Blogs/Podcast/eInfo, AFTER the visit, DURING the visit, BEFORE the visit | No Comments »

Thursday 21 September 2006 by Edward.

UK airlines websites now have a Flybe desktop tool that allows passengers to make changes to their flight plans, reports UK Times Online. It may cost, but the convenience truly improves the tourist booking experience

Posted in Gadget/Idea/Webtool, BEFORE the visit | No Comments »