Check Your Cell Phone for Directions
June 19, 2007. You've just pulled into San Francisco, ready for a week in a luxury vacation rental, when you realize you're low on gas. But where's the nearest filling station? Just whip out your web-enabled cell phone, select "cheap gas" from the menu, and you've got a list of filling stations, with info on the price at the pump.
That's how a new breed of mobile Internet services can help customers, according to an article in the New York Times. The very situation above was mentioned as one of the possible scenarios. Services such as Mobio, Earthcomber and Where have been created especially for cell phones, Blackberries and other mobile devices. They can also help you find an ATM, cab, movie, restaurants and entertainment. Most users will punch in a zip code, but Earthcomber and Where can communicate with GPS-enabled phones to omit that step, giving users information on the fly.
The new services reflect the growing movement to put more user-friendly Internet features on mobile devices, according to the article. Anyone who has ever browsed the web on a cell phone knows the experience has yet to be fine-tuned.
The technology could have an impact on luxury vacation rentals, too. Imagine two spontaneous travelers are on a road trip and decide they want to stay in the Georgia mountains for a few days. Rather than settling for a motel room on the side of the interstate, they might be able to track down an otherwise hidden hotspot in the mountains.
