Lastminute.com to launch talking phrase books for mobile phone users

Lastminute.com is set to launch talking phrase books for mobile phone users. The phrase books allow travellers to look up phrases on the screen of their mobile phone. The software then speaks the phrase in the local language, overcoming pronunciation problems.

Online travel service Lastminute.comis set to launch talking phrase books for mobile phone users.

The phrase books allow travellers to look up phrases on the screen of their mobile phone. The software then speaks the phrase in the local language, overcoming pronunciation problems.

"Instead of you having to flick through the pages of a phrase book to find what you want to say, you simply click your phone menu, select the phrase you need and voila!" said Mark McCulloch, Lastminute.com's head of brand development.

The software, which currently runs on Nokia and Sony Ericsson handsets, costs £3 per language to download. Currently the developer - coolgorilla.com - offers six languages: French, German, Greek, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese. Each download contains between 250 and 300 phrases developed in conjunction with Lastminute.com's travel experts.

According to coolgorilla, developing translation software for mobile handsets makes sense, because the mobile phone is one item almost everyone takes on their travels, and because it is easy to play back an audio clip to a local person from a mobile phone.

The company started working with Lastminute.com by developing a series of phrasebooks for iPods. Although the iPod phrasebooks are free to download for Lastminute.com customers, and they include 800 phrases, the lack of a speaker in the iPod makes that software more of a learning tool than a practical option for travellers who need instant help.

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Internet inspections edging out personal visits from meeting planners?

An amazing 61.4% of 192 respondents to MiMegasite.com's latest poll said they would choose a meeting property based just on information, specs and photos found on the internet - without even conducting an in-person site inspection.

Are site inspections for meeting planners going the way of the buggy whip and the dodo?

An amazing 61.4% of 192 respondents to MiMegasite.com's latest poll said they would choose a meeting property based just on information, specs and photos found on the internet — without even conducting an in-person site inspection.

"As the sophistication of Web sites continues to advance, many properties now offer 360-degree views of guest rooms, meeting space, banquet space, and other areas, allowing planners to get a solid idea of a property's feasibility for their meetings," said MiMegasite. "And when it comes to judging the service staff at a property--which obviously cannot be done over the Web--many planners rely on word-of-mouth anecdotes and recommendations if they are not going to conduct an in-person site visit."

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Hilton launches Sight+Sound rooms

Following extensive conceptual development, Hilton Hotels has launched home theatre-like Sight+Sound Rooms at two hotels, including 25 guest rooms at the Hilton Chicago O'Hare International Airport and 30 guest rooms at the Hilton San Francisco.

Following extensive conceptual development, Hilton Hotels has launched home theatre-like Sight+Sound Rooms at two hotels, including 25 guest rooms at the Hilton Chicago O'Hare International Airport and 30 guest rooms at the Hilton San Francisco.

"Travelers desire more digital entertainment options in the hotel guest room than ever before. The Hilton Sight+Sound Rooms are designed to provide a more enriching experience to business travelers and families, enhancing their journey by providing the ultimate in-room entertainment," said Tom Keltner, CEO – Americas and Global Brands, Hilton Hotels Corporation. "Representing a long-term vision for our hotels, the Sight+Sound Rooms underscore our overall strategy of providing a more personalized experience in-room – giving guests choice and control over their surroundings."

"Featuring a wide-screen, high definition, television, a digital surround-sound system, and an easy-to-use connectivity panel for music, videos, games and laptops, the Sight+Sound Rooms will enable guests to connect, watch, and experience their favorite entertainment," said Tim Harvey, chief information officer, Hilton Hotels Corporation.

This cutting-edge, fully enabled high definition system with a stunning selection of high definition movies, TV channels, and interactive menus, features home theatre-like qualities of surround sound from Yamaha, a 42-inch plasma screen, as well as sports packages and Monster Cables for easy connectivity.

Watch+Listen

The Sight+Sound Rooms will enable guests to catch up on compelling content, including recently aired popular primetime TV series and catch-up specials. The rooms also feature all-day sports packages on demand, including football, basketball, baseball, hockey and college sports. Programming from DirecTV will include 14 high-definition channels among 40 total network and cable channels and five or more XM Satellite Radio stations.

Explore

Hilton has paired with highly esteemed entertainment brands to provide state-of-the-art equipment: LG 42" flat-screen plasma televisions, a Yamaha YSP-800 digital sound projector, high-definition TV programming from DirecTV, and a user-friendly electronic programming guide and high definition menu system for easier navigability, from LodgeNet. LodgeNet also was integral to planning and installing the system.

Connect

Guests also can bring their own media content and plug portable devices such as MP3 players, laptops, digital cameras and video recorders into a specially designed easy-to-use connectivity panel, which LodgeNet developed and provided for the project. To support the connection, Monster Cable is providing a cable pack in the event guests leave their cables behind.

"The Sight+Sound Rooms represent an important extension of the strategic entertainment and technological solutions designed for our guests," said Jeffrey Diskin, senior vice president – brand management, Hilton Hotels. "At Hilton, we know that travel should take you places®, and our newly designed rooms are geared to ease, enlighten, entertain and refresh the mind, body and soul while you're traveling."

Guest feedback on the Hilton Sight+Sound rooms will help the company create a compelling offering for future guests of all the Hilton Family of Hotels.