Travel destination guides seem to be popping up all over the mobile web. The concept makes sense, create a directory of local tourist oriented businesses, services and attractions and monetize it by charging the businesses for listings. It's the mobile web equivalent of those free resort area newspapers.
What's This?

Pocket London

Content: ****  Usability: XXXX
www.pocketlondonguide.co.uk/plnf... (xhtml-mp)

A "Touch Web" guide to London history, events, sightseeing, shopping, nightlife and tours. Features click to call numbers, an interactive map and downloadable MP3 audio guides. Should work on most non-touch phones provided they can handle 200 KB pages. Source: Taptu Touch Web Report


Screenshots

Pocket London Homepage Pocket London Place Page


What's This?

Vegas Mobile Concierge

Content: ****  Usability: XXXX
m.vegas.com (xhtml-mp)

Vegas Mobile Concierge on N95

Vegas Mobile Concierge is one of few mobile web booking sites I've seen that's actually easy to use. It's main function is  finding and  booking Las Vegas shows, something it does very well. You pick a show and are presented with the available times and prices, which include all taxes and fees so there are no surprises. Once you choose the number and type of tickets you want you are prompted to use a click to call link to complete the reservation with your credit card details.

Some day all phones will have a mobile wallet to make on device purchasing truly painless. But until then an old fashion voice call is far, far easier than using a web form in any phone browser to complete the tedious business of entering all the details that a credit card purchase requires. While the mobile versions of services like PayPal and Google Checkout are also fairly easy to use, relatively few Vegas visitors are likely to have an account on one of these services and have gone to the trouble of enabling mobile access. Just about everyone who can afford a Las Vegas show has a credit card.

I was rather impressed  with the quality of the Vegas Mobile site's mobile web implementation. I don't know who did it but they do clearly understand the both the opportunities and the limits of mobile web services. 

Vegas Concierge Mobile

The site uses browser detection and adaptation to customize the site to make the most of each mobile browser's capabilities. iPhones, Opera Mini, S60 Webkit. Android phones  and most other devices with full-web browsers get a rich presentation with tabs and iPhone style 3D fade section headers (top image).  Openwave, Motorola and Nokia S40 "Services" browsers (bottom image) get a simplified design that manages to maintain most of the look and feel of the rich mobile version.  There's even a wml variant for old WAP1 phones

I did find a few things that could have been done better.  Some of the shows featured on the front page  turn out to be sold out when you try to book them. If there are no tickets available why even list these shows? The browser adaptation, while good,  is not perfect.  The site triggers an Openwave 7 browser bug that makes most of the text an unreadable beige on a beige background.  And the wml version has markup errors that will probably prevent it from working on most wml-only phones. In reality both wml-only phones and ones with Openwave 7 are relatively uncommon. Most mobile users will find the Mobile Concierge a very useful way to book the famous live shows when they visit Vegas.

Mobile Concierge is a service of Vegas.com, which is owned by publisher of the Las Vegas Sun daily newspaper and is the biggest booking agency and tour operator in the self-styled "Entertainment Capitol of the World".


What's This?

Tokyo Walks

Content: ****  Usability: XXXX
winksite.mobi/TokyoWalks/home (xhtml-mp)

Your mobile guide to interesting Tokyo neighborhoods. Turn by turn walking tours, each starting a different Tokyo Metro station. The tours average about 5 km in length with a separate page, which includes a photo, for each stop or point of interest. Tokyo Walks was created using Winksite, the free mobile site builder and community, and is an outstanding example of the capabilities of the Winksite platform.


What's This?

Tokyo Sunnypages

Content: ****  Usability: XXXX
mobile.sunnypages.jp/ (xhtml-mp)

Sunny Pages Mobile

User generated English language guide to Tokyo. Sunnypages is a searchable collection of over 4,000 word of month reviews of restaurants, museums, shops, services and hotels throughout Tokyo. Search and filter by name, district, train station and category.  Each listing includes address, name in Japanese and English, hours, click to call phone number, map and directions by train.  Many listings also have one or more user submitted reviews, star ratings and photos. Source: Oh! Mobile Directory


What's This?

Tampere 1918

Content: ****  Usability: XXXX
zones.zonear.com/tampere1918 (xhtml-mp)

Interactive mobile guide to the new "Tampere 1918" exhibit at Museum Centre Vapriikki in Tampere, Finland . The exhibition covers the Finnish Civil War of 1918 in which 40,000 people were killed in four months fighting between the Red and the White Guards.

The HTML5 mobile guide includes an interactive floor plan of the exhibition space with audio narrative historical photos. It was developed by a Finnish startup Zonear Ltd and can be used with any touch screen mobile device with a modern browser.


What's This?

Industrial Tampere

Content: ****  Usability: XXXX
tehtaidentampere.zonear.com/ (xhtml-mp)

The Industrial Tampere Mobile Tour provides information and historical context about the industrial heritage sites in the Tampere, Finland downtown area. This gorgeous looking mobile web app features a scrolling 3D map interface. Clicking an icon on the map opens a page with details and photos for each site. The site requires a touch screen device. It works well in the Symbian^3 and Android 2.2 browsers but neither the map nor the text description pages were scrollable in Opera Mini or Mobile.


What's This?

CityZapper

Content: ****  Usability: XXXX
www.cityzapper.mobi/en/default.asp (xhtml-mp)

Guides to major European cities in English and Dutch. For each city there are maps,  an overview description, transportation information and listings of restaurants, clubs, museums, sights  and events. Source: Mobility.mobi


What's This?

City.Mobi

Content: ****  Usability: XX
city.mobi/ (xhtml-mp)

City.mobi HomepageGuides to hundreds of cites around the world. The site is offered in eight languages and covers Africa, Asia, Europe, the Americas and Oceania. That's clearly a lot of information here although usability could be better.

The guides are essentially lists of hotels, restaurants, shops, entertainment venues and travel and transport providers. The listings consist of the address, a click to call phone number and in the case of hotels a star rating. All good basic information but it could be organized better. For example, for San Francisco City.mobi lists over 500 hotels, five to a page, 125 pages total. The listings are city wide and there is no way to sort them or search for a particular hotel or location You can filter by star rating but that's it.

Another usability problem is that there are active links to unfinished parts of the site. An example is an "Events" link that leads to a "Coming Soon" page. This is classic garden pathing which wastes mobile user's time and money. If there's no content, the link should be removed or disabled.


What's This?

See Washington DC

Content: ****  Usability: XXXX
seewashingtondc.net/mobile/ (xhtml-mp)

Mobile version of "See Washington DC's" travel guide to monuments, memorials,museums, attractions and things to do and see in the nation's capital and  Northern Virginia. Also includes a hotel search form with (non-mobile optimized) online booking.


What's This?

Mobile Cincinnati USA

Content: ****  Usability: XXXX
cincinnatiusa.com/mobi/ (xhtml-mp)

Comprehensive guide to attractions, events, hotels restaurants and taxi service in Cincinnati, Ohio.  Searchable listings include, address, click to call phone number, hours, prices, what's nearby and links to Google maps and directions. Source: Oh! Mobile Directory


What's This?

Alcatraz.mobi

Content: ****  Usability: XXXX
alcatraz.mobi/ (xhtml-mp)

A nicely done guide to Alcatraz Island, the famous maximum security prison in on a rock in the middle of San Francisco Bay. Shut down in 1963, Alcatraz is today one of the top Bay Area tourist attractions. The site has Alcatraz history, photos, weather and tour information and phone numbers.  Source Mobienthusiast


What's This?

CA Academy of Sciences

Content: ****  Usability: XXXX
m.calacademy.org (xhtml-mp)

The California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, California is a world-class aquarium, planetarium and natural history museum with a 4-story rainforest. It's housed in a striking new environmentally sustainable building by Renzo Piano. The museum's mobile site has daily program listings, ticket prices and public transit, driving and parking information.


What's This?

Chicago Southland CVB

Content: ****  Usability: XXX
visitchicagosouthland.com/mobile/ (xhtml-mp)

Tourist and travelers guide from the Chicago Southland Convention and Visitors Bureau which represents 62 suburbs South and Southwest of downtown Chicago. Covers hotels, restaurants, attractions, cultural and historic sites, golf courses, shopping and transportation.  Listings include addresses, hours and phone numbers which are not click to call, unfortunately. Source: Oh! Mobile Directory


What's This?

Scarsdale .mobi

Content: ****  Usability: XXXX
scarsdale.mobi/ (xhtml-mp)

Guide to Scarsdale, NY restaurants and hotels plus seven day weather forecast. Listings include address and click to call phone numbers. Source: Mobility.mobi.


What's This?

Boston Freedom Trail

Content: ****  Usability: XXXX
www.freedomtrail.mobi/ (xhtml-mp)

Interactive mobile guide to Boston's Freedom Trail, a 2.5 red brick walkway connecting  14 historic sites from the Boston Common to Bunker Hill. The mobile site has maps, photos and a description, prices, click to call numbers, etc. for each site. Source: Mobility.mobi


What's This?

Banff

Content: ***  Usability: XXXX
banff.mobi/ (xhtml-mp)
A couple of guides for the beautiful Canadian Rockies resort towns of Banff. This well designed mobile site uses accesskeys and click to call phone numbers for usability and offers information of real value for visitors including weather forecasts, and ideas for things too do.
What's This?

Whistler

Content: ***  Usability: XXXX
whistler.mobi/ (xhtml-mp)
Guide to the Whistler, Canada resort area. Hotel, restaurant, attraction and services listings plus local weather forcasts make this a handy site for the visitor.
What's This?

Outer Banks, NC

Content: ****  Usability: XXXX
obx.com/ (xhtml-mp)

Tourist information for North Carolina's Outer Banks region with restaurant, event, shopping and real estate listings, movie show times and classified ads. 


What's This?

Grand Forks Visitors Bure

Content: ****  Usability: XXXX
mobile.visitgrandforks.com/ (xhtml-mp)

Shopping, dining and events guide for greater Grand Forks, North Dakota from the Greater Grand Forks Convention & Visitors Bureau. Source: Oh! Mobile Directory


What's This?

Sun Valley / Ketchum CVB

Content: ****  Usability: XXXX
www.visitsunvalley.mobi/ (xhtml-mp)

Guide to Sun Valley and  Ketchum Idaho from the local Convention and Visitors Bureau. Event calendar and lodging, restaurants, shopping and attractions listings with click to call phone numbers, hours, and addresses. Source: Mobility.mobi


What's This?

Alpharetta, GA CVB

Content: ***  Usability: XXXX
www.awesomealpharetta.mobi (xhtml-mp)

From the Alpharetta, Georgia Convention & Visitors Bureau comes this guide to hotels, restaurants and shopping in the Atlanta suburb. The guide is basically just a list of establishments with click to call numbers there is no other information such as descriptions, street address or hours. Source: Mobility.mobi


What's This?

Pismo Beach Mobile

Content: ****  Usability: XXXX
gopismo.mobi/ (xhtml-mp)

Official site of the Pismo Beach Convention and Visitor's Bureau. Lists hotels, restaurants and RV parks with hours, price range and click to call phone numbers.  Pismo Beach is a well known Southern California beach town noted for clamming and surfing.  The mobile site includes weather, tides, surf report, surf forecast and wave heights and sets. Source Mobility.mobi


What's This?

Szeged, Hungary

Content: ****  Usability: XXXX
m.szegedvaros.com/ (xhtml-mp)

Visitors guide to Szeged, Hungary.  Weather, local history and listings of hotels, hostels, restaurants and ATMs with maps and click to call numbers.


What's This?

Lebanon Mobile

Content: ****  Usability: XXXX
tyros.leb.net/mobile/ (xhtml-mp)

A rather basic tourist's guide to Lebanon in English, Arabic and French. Brief descriptions of the principal cites, list of public holidays and general information like population, area and phone prefixes. Source: Oh! Mobile Directory


What's This?

Bay of Islands, NZ

Content: ****  Usability: XXXX
m.bayofislands.net/ (xhtml-mp)

Guide to New Zealand's remote and beautiful Bay of Islands. Information on accommodations and activities with click to call numbers and email contact form. Maps, reviews and photos. Source: Oh! Mobile Directory


What's This?

Wellington NZ

Content: ****  Usability: XXXX
m.wellingtonnz.com/ (xhtml-mp)

Travelers guide to Wellington New Zealand.  Hotel, restaurant, bar, shopping  and attractions listings with prices, photos, maps and click to call numbers.  Source: Oh! Mobile Directory


What's This?

Scenic Rim Tourism

Content: ****  Usability: XXX
scenicrimtourism.org.au/mobile/ (xhtml-mp)

Tourist information for Australia's Boonah - "The Heart of the Scenic Rim", a foothills area noted for its natural beauty and its wines.. Accommodation, attractions, dinning and winery listings with maps, photos and phone numbers which sadly are not click to call. Source Mobility.mobi


What's This?

Fundi - South Africa

Content: ***  Usability: XXX
fundi.mobi/ (xhtml-mp)

Fundi.mobi South African Guide

Guide to businesses, events and attractions throughout South Africa. Listings include click to call numbers and in some cases a description and address.

Fundi is a new site and businesses must pay to be listed. Consequently there are relatively few listings.This is understandable, but there are a number of links like "Wine Estates" and "Football 2010" that lead to empty pages with no listings at all, unnecessarily wasting the user's time and bandwidth. A better design would be to either hide these empty categories or to "seed" them with a few basic listings or an informational blurb. Source: Mobility.mobi


What's This?

Visit India

Content: ***  Usability: XXXX
www.visitindia.mobi/ (xhtml-mp)

Visit India has facts about India and travel tips including recommended hotels and sights.  No links or phone numbers, though. Source: Tappity


What's This?

TurisValencia

Content: ****  Usability: XXX
turisvalencia.mobi/?idioma=EN (xhtml-mp)

The official website of leisure and business Tourism in the City of Valencia, Spain lists hotels, restaurants, museums, events and transportation information. But why are none of the phone numbers click to call?


What's This?

St Ives Cornwall

Content: ****  Usability: XXXX
stives.mobi/ (xhtml-mp)

Mobile guide to St Ives, a popular year round resort in scenic West Cornwall, England noted for its beaches and artists colony. The mobile site has background information on the town, descriptions of the beaches, a public transit guide, maps and listings of events, hotels and art galleries. Source Tappity


What's This?

Dumfries and Galloway

Content: ****  Usability: XXXX
dgvisit.mobi (xhtml-mp)

Guide to Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland.  Lists attactions, lodging and restaurants with click to call numbers but curiously, no street addresses. Source: Oh Mobile Directory


What's This?

Pocket Southwold

Content: ****  Usability: XXX
www.pocketsouthwold.co.uk/ (xhtml-mp)

Pocket Southwold

Guide to Southwold, a town on the England's Suffolk coast that is noted for its natural beauty and historic structures including the 15th Century Church of St Edmund and historic pier, harbor, lighthouse and brewery.

The attractive, image heavy Pocket Southwold site appears to have been designed for the iPhone but also works well with other mobile browsers that are able to handle its 100 KB pages such as the Nokia Webkit browser, Opera Mini and even the "Services" browser on recent Nokia S40 devices.

The guide covers attractions, restaurants and lodging and includes weather reports,  bus and train times, interactive maps and 4-5 minute mp3 audio guides describing Southwold's highlights. Listings include address, click to call numers and maps.


What's This?

Rajasthan Travel Guide

Content: ****  Usability: XXXX
m.rajasthantour4u.com/ (xhtml-mp)

Tourist information, tourism and travel guide for the Indian state of Rajasthan. Information on tourist attractions, forts, temples, festivals, wildlife, hotels and shopping.

28-May-2012: Site is down


What's This?

ozmobi.mobi

Content: ***  Usability: XXX
www.ozmobi.mobi/ (xhtml-mp)

Visitors guide to Australia with information and pictures of cities, states and attractions, click to call numbers for tourist information centers and a directory of businesses. Source Oh! Mobile Directory

1-May-2013: site is down


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What's This?
QR Code
It's a QR (Quick Response) Code containing the URL of WapReview Mobile. Snap it with your phone's QR Code reader to go to the WapReview mobile site.

Ratings Key :

Content - 0-5 *'s indicating the quality of the site's writing, depth, timeliness and accuracy.

Usability - 0-5 X's indicating the usability of the site on a mobile device, based on ease and intuitivness of navigation and lack of excessive scrolling through ads etc. to reach main content.