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Well, your wish has been answered, with Lonely Planet reducing the prices of its 25 'augmented reality' apps, known as 'Compass City Guides', from US $4.99 to US 99c each.
That very likely still means an Australian price of over a dollar, but it still represents a major discount and continues the trend set by EA of reducing prices for Christmas to boost rankings up the charts to generate as much Christmas cheer for consumers and as many Christmas profits as possible, with the sale predictably ending on December 25, 2010.
Shawn Low, Lonely Planet's Asia-Pacific Travel Editor, and a man who seemingly understands the attraction of 'Low' prices, happily stated that: 'With so many people gearing up to travel for Christmas, we were keen to make it a bit easier for them to experience the benefits of these augmented reality guides. That's why we're slashing the price for this week.'
The Lonely Planet Compass Guides are currently available in 25 editions for Android users, and these are as follows:
Amsterdam, Bangkok, Barcelona, Beijing, Boston, Chicago, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Las Vegas, London, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York City, Paris, Prague, Rome, San Francisco, Seattle, Seoul, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo, Vancouver, and Washington DC.
Lonely Planet says that the key features of its Compass Guides include 'GPS-enabled maps and location-based information for hundreds of points-of-interest for every city'.
The 'augmented reality' bit comes in 'by simply looking through the phone's camera, users can see the best nearby sights, restaurants, bars and accommodation. The guides also enable travellers to use all content offline (with the exception of the maps), meaning no roaming fees.'
So, as long as your Android OS-powered phone has the Android Market, something that even the very first G1 phone offers (with Lonely Planet specifically saying this model is compatible with its guides), then it could well be time for you to help make the planet less lonely by embarking on some travels!
