Tripadvisor iPhone App©Apple

Online review giant TripAdvisor has launched its first full iPhone app to enable users to rate and review hotels on the go.
The free application, available in 13 different languages, allows travelers to search for hotels, restaurants and attractions, consulting tripAdvisor's database of reviews direct from their handset.
The app replaces the firm's limited functionality Local Picks app, which was for restaurants only.
Using GPS, the app allows travelers to hotels, restaurants, or things to do, as well as searching for flights and writing their own reviews of hotel stays.
This geolocation is one of the most useful functions of the application, enabling it to pull local suggestions -- and associated reviews -- from a database of over one million listings around the world.
However, the application lacks the ability to display more than one listing on a map, or to view the photos and videos on the TripAdvisor site, leaving it as little more than a stripped-down, location aware version of the brand's website.
Compared to the sophisticated functionality of some travel iPhone apps on the market, such as the augmented reality used by Lonely Planet and TripWolf, TripAdvisor's offering may be regarded by users as too little, too late.
Relaxnews

Published 27.05.2010