Cigar Aficionado features HearPlanet in a full-page editorial in their December issue. Quotes:

“More than half a million voice files are available and they cover hundreds of thousands of destinations worldwide.” ”You can let HearPlanet figure out where you are via GPS and recommend audio about local attractions or search for information about locations on your upcoming itinerary.  Either way, you have a hands-free guide feeding you information that augments your travel experience.  The full HearPlanet app is available for Android ($2.99) and Apple ($3.99) devices.  There’s also a free “lite” version for each, providing limited information.”

British Airways’ in-flight magazine, High Life, features HearPlanet in its September edition, and crowns HearPlanet the “Best [app] for Sightseeing.”

Whether on vacation or taking an hour between business meetings, managing your time to know where to go in a new town, what to see, when it’s open, and how far it is from your current location can streamline any visit. This app provides a full audio guide for a huge range of locations around the globe. Using the GPS, it can tell you what attractions are nearby, and then tells you core details about that location. That can mean a lot less reading. The maps let you find interesting locations nearby, and then hear details on their background and significance. You can also search for specific locations if you happen to know what you’re looking for. At $4.99 the app covers a lot of locations, and can provide pre-travel information if you simply search by your destination city, so that you can sound smarter when you get there if traveling with friends or a spouse.

The Gadget Show says, “HearPlanet is like having a tour guide with you 24-7. Simply search for a landmark around you. HearPlanet will then locate it from its massive database of sights and locations and find an audio guide to help you learn more about it.”

See the episode: http://fwd.channel5.com/gadget-show/videos/top-5/travel-apps
The Gadget Show’s HearPlanet page: http://fwd.channel5.com/gadgets/phones/hearplanet

The Home Based Travel Agent Show’s blog says HearPlanet is “…a sophisticated app for your iPhone or Android powered smart phone. Geolocation along with powerful search features will lead you on a discovery of what’s around you, or what’s interesting at a destination your traveling to.”

The benefit for the travel professional is that they can add locations they’re familiar with and become the destination expert on HearPlanet.  Users of the applications can contact contributors directly from the app to book services, using the phone, email, the web and more.

HotelsFairy.com names HearPlanet #2 in their piece: 10 Really Useful Travel Apps for the iPhone

In the piece by Jenny Kellett, HotelsFairy says,

“HearPlanet is certainly up there as one of the most useful travel apps around. Wherever you are in the world, HearPlanet will act as a travel guide in your pocket – telling you what attractions are nearby. It even plays you the Wikipedia description of each one out loud.”

The Shop SF application lets users find relevant promotions based on search criteria and what’s nearby. The Shop SF application is supported by Mayor Gavin Newsom and the City’s Economic Development Team, who have committed to promoting HearPlanet and the Shop SF application throughout the Bay Area. Media buys include prominent placements in BART and MUNI stations, trains and busses; as well as print ads and a major public relations initiative by the Mayor and his team.

The Shop SF application is targeted at the over 15 million visitors who come to San Francisco each year, and who spend $7.8 billion on local businesses.

We appreciate Mayor Newsome and the City’s Economic Development Team for promoting cutting edge technology and choosing HearPlanet for the development of the Shop SF mobile application.

Merchants can register at onlyinsanfrancisco.com/shopsfregister to participate in the program and be included in HearPlanet’s official Shop SF mobile application (launching November 15^th).

* Shop SF Merchants are automatically featured in HearPlanet’s family of mobile applications, which can be found on most mobile smart-phone platforms.

HearPlanet has partnered with appbackr, so you (and the public) can make money while supporting HearPlanet.  appbackr is the new digital wholesale marketplace for iPhone applications. People buy applications at wholesale rates and profit when apps sell in Apple’s App Store.

HearPlanet is pre-selling an allocated number of apps to buyers on appbackr. appbackr delivers these funds in advance of App Store sales and promotes HearPlanet to the general public using social media tools. Wholesale buyers can also help promote the product and increase retail sales. Now you can make money while supporting HearPlanet’s future development and success. Click here to get started: appbackr

HearPlanet is honored to have been selected as the sole US representative to the World Summit Awards 2010 for Tourism and Culture.

Nomination criteria included:

• Bring cultural heritage to mobile platforms
• Demonstrate valuable cultural assets clearly and informatively
• Use state-of-the-art mobile technology
• Provide guides to the diversity of cultures, sites and objects
• Enable travelers’ to find attractions, be informed and enlightened
• Enable travelers’ to enjoy safe travel and have access to up-to-date information
• Enhance intermodal use of public transport
• Support orientation in cities and countryside
• Allow the hotel industry to address customers
• Provide new perspectives on the space around us
• Use maps and navigation-based content

Additional criteria that HearPlanet was hand picked for include:

• Cultural diversity and identity
• Creation of varied information content
• Digitalization of educational, scientific and cultural heritage content
• Benefits that are accessible and meaningful for all humanity
• and Raising public awareness

For more information go to the World Summit Awards Website

“HearPlanet … will even tell you about the cool things surrounding you anywhere in the world.”

Cristin Fraser, publicist for True North Records and Linus Entertainment in Burlington, Ont., wonders whether HearPlanet might soon render the tour guide obsolete.

“I used it on a trip to Nashville, and it was really easy to use,” Ms. Fraser says. “It gave a lot of background on the city and a few of the places of interest we ended up seeing, like the Ryman Auditorium.”

“They downloaded really quickly. I’d say it’s worth using.”

Are you a lone crusader who is passionate about exploring destinations on your own? Then this application is for you! HearPlanet delivers the history and facts about a specific place that you are visiting and also plays it an audio format like a professional tour guide.

Besides being featured in the savings grid, Gizmodo’s Brian Barrett says, “Frequent traveler? Download HearPlanet’s collection of over 250,000 audio guides instead of shelling out around $8 for one at each location.”

Thanks Gizmodo!

Michelle goes on to to talk about her experience listening to content on the New Museum on Manhattan’s Lower East Side and how it “identified important figures such as Ana Mendieta, William Kentridge and Andrea Zittel… and how the facility, which opened on 235 Bowery in December 2007 and was designed by the Tokyo-based firm Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa/SANAA and the New York-based firm Gensler, was named one of the seven architectural wonders by Condé Nast Traveler.”
[full article]

Thanks National Geographic!

HearPlanet won “Most Likely to Succeed” at SVASE’s Launch: Silicon Valley 2009. HearPlanet was also chosen by Fox Business Channel to be featured live on Fox Business’ special feature “3 Days in the Valley” (video) from the Cisco Campus.
Three Days In the Valley: Day Three (Article)

Once on the ground, fire up HearPlanet, an exhaustive audio guidebook packed into your iPhone. It’s not bulky or heavy, and its pages won’t get smeared with sunscreen.

In London when you are using tour buses that drive you around London and showing places there are headphone sockets and headphones on board so that you can listen about places that the bus is passing through. Imagine that you can have such speaking tour guide inside of your iPhone!”

…The option of reading the information or listening to the audio is very nice. The ability, via the geolocation, to have HearPlanet identify your current location and provide you with points of interest close to you is a handy feature especially if you’re just out exploring and don’t have exact addresses to search.

“The iPhone has the largest install base with the highest level of functionality,” says Steven Echtman, CEO of HearPlanet, a free travel audio tour service that launched in early January. Other platforms have larger numbers of subscribers, such as Windows Mobile and BlackBerry, but users aren’t as likely to add lots of new applications, he says, because Apple makes it easier via its App Store.

HearPlanet has been downloaded more than 50,000 times.

Steven Echtman with the now famous HearPlanet Launch Party Tour Bus.
Video by Allan Lundell
Editorial and graphics by Brian Cibula

Find Great Locations to Photograph Wherever You Go!

HearPlanet turns your iPhone into a talking tour guide. Leave those bulky tour books behind and let HearPlanet show you the way. The software makes it easy to find what you’re looking for, wherever you are – and fast!

You’ll be amazed how easy it is to access all the landmarks, historic sites, cultural spots, nature areas, famous buildings, sports venues, recreation areas, and more – all in a way that really ‘speaks’ to you.

Use HearPlanet to learn all about the places you go, as well as what’s around you every day. It’s a great way to learn about your surroundings and you’ll be amazing at what you find.

One of the newest travel apps that seems to be catching a lot of attention is HearPlanet.

This application turns your iPhone into a location based talking tour guide…

HearPlanet will user your location to give you a good overview of items of interest around you. Similar to previously mentioned “Where to” in some respects, however HearPlanet also seems to offer information about the places rather than just links to locations. The “Hear” in HearPlanet stems from the fact that the application will actually dictate info about your location…