The Future of Audio Guides

Trawling through the internet, looking for comments on Audio Guides and the future of the industry I stumbled across the below, an article written on FTJ, The Family Travel Journal. The author highlights the trend currently taking over the travel publishing industry. The likes of Lonely Planet and Rough Guides are uncertain about the future of the 1,000 page guide of Western Europe? Is this too much information to have on you at any one time and is this the best way to access the necessary information? The result has been that "these publishers are starting to sell stand-alone chapters ready for download to a PDA or other text-friendly device."

The motivational force behind this trend is the increasing demand for convenience and customization. Travelers want site-specific information that can be easily stored and discretely used in bite-sized chunks. They want and expect to have access to relevant location specific information when they want, where they want. The author goes onto explain where this market need and expectation has come from: the worldwide web, modern technology and travel. This will enable the 21st century traveler to download site-specific information from the ether onto a mobile device where he can read or listen to it as he stands in front of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona.

The emphasis here is on "will" - "this will enable the traveler to download...information onto a mobile device". Sadly for you those of you without a Nokia N95 or iPhone you will struggle with this bit, the ability to download audio tracks straight onto a PDA or mobile device because you are unlikely to have free internet access. Unfortunately very few cities currently provide free wifi access and the mobile networks only really afford free internet access to people traveling within their home country. So, consumers, you need to be patient and wait for mobile networks to drop international roaming tariffs and open up web access, free of charge, to everyone. Or do we?

The signs are that handset manufacturers are willing to enter the audio-information arms race. If this is this case, this could halve the time that consumers have to wait until they can download and listen to location-specific information in situ. The information would be pre-loaded onto a your handset and uploaded onto a map of the city. Then, upon visiting the city you can use the map to guide you around, learning about the sites and attractions as you go.

But the fact remains that this is not yet available to the mainstream and certainly the information is not downloadable in audio format, allowing you to really experience the city sights around you. So in the meantime we would ask that you monitor StrollOn, follow our progress and give our "Sixty Minute City" a trial when we start selling it on the website within the next couple of weeks. We are using popular technology to provide you with important and entertaining information - technology that is meant to be plugged into your ears as you move around, unlike your PDA or mobile.



In the meantime, StrollOn...

StrollOn in Amsterdam

This page is for feedback and discussion on Amsterdam, the city, and StrollOn's coverage of it

StrollOn in Prague

This page is for feedback and discussion on Prague, the city, and StrollOn's coverage of it

StrollOn in London

This page is for feedback and discussion on London, the city, and StrollOn's coverage of it

StrollOn in Paris

This page is for feedback and discussion on Paris, the city, and StrollOn's coverage of it

StrollOn's First Press Release

StrollOn - a new way to experience old places

Welcome to StrollOn, an innovative producer of entertaining and professional audio city guides for your iPod.

21st century travel is dominated by the Internet, which offers a vast choice of information that all travellers want and need. At the same time, audio-entertainment is dominated by the 150 million iPods sold worldwide. When the two are brought together, you have a new way to experience old places.

StrollOn stands out in this fast developing industry for the quality of its content and production. We work with experienced guides, expert sound engineers and the best actors to bring each city’s stories and secrets to life. We aim to entertain as well as to inform. We produce our guides not only for tourists, but also for the locals wanting to see and hear more about their city.

When you visit our website at www.strollon.com, you will see the choice of city guides that you can download. Our library is expanding rapidly into other European cities and into other types of guide. We currently offer audio walks that take the listener away from the crowds, off the beaten track. We will soon be bringing out individual, stand-alone guides around each city’s major sights and there will be overviews of cities, giving visitors a chance to feel more like a local. All our products are easily downloadable onto your iPod, giving you a personalised tour that you control - you go when you want and you see what you want.


Notes to Editors:

• StrollOn has focused on iPods because they are the most common and user-friendly MP3’s, but the city guides can be played on any MP3 including some mobiles
• At present, all StrollOn’s products are recorded in English. The company intends to make progress in this area.
• StrollOn currently offers 6 audio tours in London and 2 audio walks in Paris for £4.99.
• The overviews and individual sight-specific guides for London and Paris are now complete and will be downloadable shortly and for free.
• On our blog, www.strollon.co.uk/blog, we offer commentary on StrollOn, its products and the industry, and welcome feedback and opinions on each.


For further information contact:

• Nicholas Craig Harvey: ncraigharvey@strollon.co.uk
• George Broke : gbroke@strollon.co.uk
• Telephone : 020 7340 9611

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We released this, our first press release, earlier this week. After much tweaking and fine tuning we thought that this gave journalists and industry critics a good idea of what StrollOn is about. Currently, we are undergoing a period of change, both in terms of product range and destinations covered. We are expanding both and are really very excited about what we have managed to produce for your city sightseeing pleasure. We'd advise you to expect a few more releases over the coming weeks as the website changes to accommodate our new audio walks and audio city guides. We're looking forward to hearing what you have to say abou them so long as it's positive. If not, you still know where to come and slate us: here, to our faces...

...in the meantime, StrollOn...