We can get ourselves lost, but not our mobiles. Every day more programmes are being developed (the majority of which are based on GPS technology) that allow travellers to move around more freely in the cities they visit, thanks to their mobile phones. They detect our location. Not only do they know where we are, but they also tell us where to find nearby restaurants, ATM’s or the closest tube station. Just like in the movie “Minority Report,” in the not too distant future, we will be able to personalise our mobile phone so that it only shows us the information we want it to. Many telephone and videogame companies are currently investing heavily in this direction. The Iphone 3GS is one of these devices with the most applications of this type. It has a built-in GPS and compass. iTacitus is the name of a European Union project that aims to apply these technologies to provide the reconstructed images of the buildings that we visit that are in ruins . With the help of your mobile, not only can you walk in between the ruins in Rome (some of which require the traveller to have a very vivid imagination), but you can also get an idea of what the ground that you are standing on actually looked like originally. Did you know that the Parthenon in Greece used to be blue and red? Are we perhaps facing the beginning of the end of tourist guidebooks?

Thursday 26 November 2009 12:09 | Published by Blogtelopiauk | Categoriy: Travel Technology