Lonely Planet unites with Sony Ericsson for mobile guides

Lonely Planet unites with Sony Ericsson for mobile guides

Press release – 18 September 2008 – Lonely Planet-Sony Ericsson Lonely Planet has teamed up with Sony Ericsson to produce Mobile City Guides and Phrasebooks to help travellers get to know a destination and the people they meet when they are there. Twenty City Guides and ten audio Phrasebooks from Lonely Planet’s best-selling destination and language…

Press release – 18 September 2008 – Lonely PlanetSony Ericsson


Lonely Planet has teamed up with Sony Ericsson to produce Mobile City Guides and Phrasebooks to help travellers get to know a destination and the people they meet when they are there.
 
Twenty City Guides and ten audio Phrasebooks from Lonely Planet’s best-selling destination and language guides were launched this week on Sony Ericsson’s Fun and Downloads portal.
 
The City Guides each contain around 200 recommended points of interest divided into 6 categories;  See, Eat, Sleep, Shop, Night and Essentials.  Each one includes the address, how to get there, the phone number, with click to call functionality, and a review by a Lonely Planet author. The guides also contain key information on everything from money and health to the culture of the city.
 
All the recommendations are from Lonely Planet authors who have visited the destination and uncovered the best sights and activities.
 
The Mobile City Guides are available on Sony Ericsson handsets in 14 countries throughout Europe as well as Australia.
 
The audio Phrasebooks offer translations and phonetic pronunciations grouped into easy to use categories.  For users who don’t want to test their pronunciation they can click on the phrase and let the phone speak for them.
 
The Phrasebooks translate English into 10 popular languages with more soon to be released. The 200 spoken phrases cover everything from transport, signs, accommodation, banking, numbers, shopping and sightseeing, eating and drinking, health and emergencies as well as meeting people.
 
The Phrasebooks are available on Sony Ericsson mobiles in 21 countries throughout Europe along with Australia, Singapore and the UAE.
 
Lonely Planet Business Development Manager for Wireless, Chantal Havard, said: “providing essential travel information on mobile phones is a new and exciting way for travellers to access the advice and recommendations which they need when they are on the road. Through this partnership with Sony Ericsson we are giving travellers the means to download the information that they want direct to their handset.”
 
The City Guides and Phrasebooks are downloadable Java applications which are stored on the user’s mobile phone. To download the guides, the user can either purchase through the Sony Ericsson website or access Fun and Downloads via their Sony Ericsson handset. Within the software category Lonely Planet applications can be purchased through ‘Languages’ and ‘Travel’. Both mobile city guides and phrasebooks cost £4.50 in the UK and prices range between 3 and 5 Euros in the rest of Europe.