Visiting a foreign city
can be a daunting experience, especially when traveling with
children or when the spoken language is not your own; but with the
advent of the wireless tour guide, immersing yourself in a city's
historical culture and landmarks, whether you are seven or 77, is as
easy as making a cell phone call.
With the launch of its wireless tour guides, BeyondGuide of
Rockville, Maryland, is committed to offering travelers personalized
audio guides of the world's leading tourist destinations over their
cell phones. The application offers audio tours over mobile phones
using location-based technology that can actually tell where the
tourist is and deliver information based on the attractions in the
vicinity.
"BeyondGuide brings a new [compelling] experience to mobile
users, helping them understand and appreciate the significance of
where they are and what they are looking at based on their own
personal interests," said Yechiam Halevy, president and CEO of
BeyondGuide.
BeyondGuide services are currently available in Washington, D.C.
and will be launched in New York, San Francisco, and Boston as well
as in several European cities later this year.
Traveling to Washington, D.C.
BeyondGuide had partnered with Embassy Suites Washington, D.C.
Downtown to offer all guests, for a limited time, access to an audio
tour guide of the nation's capital. Listen to Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech ‘I Have a Dream’ while standing at the Lincoln
Memorial or hear a reenactment of Lincoln’s assassination at Ford’s
Theatre.
"BeyondGuide is a powerful new tool that fits in your
pocket: a personal tour guide that entertains and informs about the
nation's capital," said David Del Russo, hotel manager.
"Embassy Suites is pleased to be one of the first hotels to
offer this service to our guests." When guests check into the
Embassy Suites, they receive a special toll-free number that allows
them to listen to as much audio as they wish while they tour the
city, he added.
Traveling with Children
For families visiting the nation's capital, BeyondGuide offers
the first audio guide for children that can be accessed over a cell
phone. The company looked to Children's Concierge, a personal travel
service for families, when it came to developing the content. The
‘Kid’s Only’ channel promises to entertain and inform
children, ages seven to 14, about 20 different attractions in
Washington such as the Lincoln Memorial, the Museum of Natural
History, and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.
Traveling to Europe
The American company has also partnered with Bertelsmann's
Locality.de to bring its wireless tour guide service to Germany and
the rest of Europe. The two companies will be demonstrating the
tour-guide technology at the upcoming Internationale Funkausstellung (IFA) in Berlin, Germany, reported Wireless
NewsFactor. A trial service will be available for IFA attendees to
experience the rich history of Berlin using their mobile phones.
BeyondGuide and Locality.de said they plan to launch the service
in Europe and in the United States in English and in German by the
end of this year.
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