Frommer's has launched the first truly interactive Japan travel guide for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. Teaming up with Inkling, Frommer's has totally rebuilt seven titles from their award-winning Day by Day series to offer a seamless, personalised experience for the reader, with a wealth of easy-to-use features both offline and online. Japan is one of the first destinations to be covered in this exciting new format. Click here to trial a free chapter of the Japan guide.
With the new guides, travellers can have unprecedented access to the information they need, wherever they are. From planning the trip at home on the sofa with an iPad or checking notes and highlights on the plane and making a few last minute plans, to using an iPhone for quick reference while out exploring the sights, it’s all at their fingertips.
Working together, Frommer’s and Inkling have provided all of the content from the Day by Day series, such as thoughtful itineraries and curated expertise, and amplified it with Inkling’s unique features not found in any other e-book or travel app:
o With more than 650 rich maps, travellers can envision the destinations as they plan, tapping for instant access to more information, links, and images.
o It’s easy to make highlights and bookmark anything from text to maps and web links. iPad users can also make notes. All annotations are saved in the user’s personal guide for easy reference.
o More than 3,000 high-resolution photographs are designed to make the reader feel like they’re already lounging on a beach, exploring a Renaissance chateau, or walking through Zen gardens—all before packing any bags. Frommer’s on Inkling immerses travellers in the destination from the first tap.
o Travellers can figure out what to pack in advance or what to wear when planning an itinerary thanks to 74 live, four-day forecast weather windows. Every time they check out a destination inside their guide, they’ll get up-to-the-minute weather about that destination or city.
o The guides have been designed to be easy-to-navigate, so that the destinations are easy-to-navigate on the ground. Instead of flipping back and forth between maps, photos, and lists, layered maps show the top places to dine, stay and visit in one spot. Every chapter also begins with slideshows of destination highlights, to help the user dive in with ease.
o Frommer’s guides are fully cross-linked. Tap on references to other places or sections, and jump to a specific hotel or restaurant listing, and other websites anywhere in the book.
o Forget navigating a traditional index or remembering where a recommendation is in the book. Search for anything, and Inkling finds it anywhere in the guide—plus in Google and Wikipedia, too.
o All guides are downloaded locally to each device for easy offline access with no data roaming charges. Only the live weather windows and embedded website links require internet access.
“We’ve long wanted a way to deliver a rich interactive travel guide experience across mobile platforms,” said Rob Flynn, Global Publisher of Frommer’s, a branded imprint of Wiley. “Our partnership with Inkling lets us provide travellers with all the inspirational, insightful and practical information they want with the added functionality and convenience that mobile devices offer. And since it’s all cross-platform, from iPad to iPhone, they’re just as useful for planning at home as they are for recommendations on the road.”
“When I saw the first prototypes of this project on Inkling, I knew we had a winning experience for travellers,” said Matt MacInnis, CEO of Inkling. “Frommer’s fantastic content, married with Inkling’s technology, has given us an entirely new kind of travel guide. Even the most seasoned travellers are going to love what we’ve created.”
Seven guides are available for immediate download from www.inkling.com/frommers and from within the iTunes App Store: Costa Rica, Alaska, California, France, Spain, Great Britain, and Japan, with more destinations due to launch later this year. Frommer’s Day by Day guides on Inkling are universal apps for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch, priced from £6.99.