Coolgorilla, a favourite of ours since they keep insisting on giving away everything for free, has launched the London Travel Guide, a 400 page mobile-optimised online 'book', with illustrations, maps and apparently even video. The content's kept updated and there are phone and web hyperlinks throughout. Guides are planned for other major cities in the near future. Press release below the break.

A World’s First for London: Free Travel Guide for the iPod, iPhone and Mobile

- Coolgorilla Launches the London Travel Guide -

London | March 5^th 2008: Coolgorilla, one of Britain’s most innovative mobile software developers, today launched the London Travel Guide, the world’s first travel guide specifically designed for iPods, iPhones and mobile phones. The London Travel Guide, available to download for free at www.londontravelguide.com, is packed with stunning video footage, roving maps and colourful facts about each attraction.

Leave those out of date, bulky travel guides at home and let your iPod, iPhone or Mobile take you on a tour around one of the world’s greatest capitals. The London Travel Guide neatly packs over 400 pages of info together with a host of impressive features onto your favourite mobile device. Unlike a paperback, the guide can be regularly updated so users have the most up to date information about each attraction, including entrance fees, phone numbers and websites. iPhone and mobile users can simply click on the phone number of the attraction to call them up, or use the website link to go directly through to the attraction’s site to find more information.

Accessing the London Travel Guide could not be any simpler. Coolgorilla designed the iPod version to be downloaded as a podcast via iTunes and the iPhone and mobile versions have both been optimised so visitors can access the information over the handset’s web browser.

Once downloaded, users have access to a range of rich content on London’s most popular tourist attractions. Coolgorilla used its eye in the sky to create aerial footage and spectacular views for the guide that most tourists and even Londoners do not get to see. The London Travel Guide also contains intriguing facts about each attraction and the reviews are not just practical but candid too.

“A recent road trip through California got me thinking about how we could improve on the traditional, paperback travel guide” said Roy Forsdick, Managing Director of Coolgorilla. “By using the content rich features available on iPods and mobiles we can help travellers get the most out of their visit to London. Also, since software isn’t exposed to the same reproduction costs as hardcopy publications, we can distribute the guides for free!”

Businesses can also make use of the sponsorship and advertising opportunities which use the advanced features to instantly connect the end user with a booking line or provide a video for commercial attractions and events. With over 100 million iPods in use today and over 1 billion mobile phones sold last year alone, the London Travel Guide makes for a powerful and unique platform for brand owners to reach their target audiences. 

Coolgorilla is already working on similar travel guides for a number of other cities including Paris, Barcelona, New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco, due to be released later this year