Ericsson and Michelin Travel Publications present an innovative new WAP application for mobile network operators. The new WAP-based solution will enable operators to offer to users restaurant and hotel location services over WAP phones.
Michelin will launch a service based on the new Ericsson location-based offering. The new service, called Guide@Michelin, will make it possible for users to access Michelin's huge database of 60,000 tested and selected addresses on mobile phones using WAP. The 'Red Guide' from Michelin Travel Publications is one of the foremost guides to European restaurants and hotels. It is particularly well known for its prestigious star award system for evaluating the quality of the cooking of listed establishments.
The Guide@Michelin service is based on Ericsson's Location Based Information Services platform and can use Ericsson's Mobile Positioning System for the positioning coordinates. These location-based services provide an ideal service-enabling platform for positioning applications in today's GSM systems as well as for emerging GPRS and 3G systems. Always-on connection to mobile Internet will give instant access to location sensitive route planning information.
With a WAP phone, users can, via their service provider, access the new location service to search their immediate area, for example, for a suitable place to dine. If users want to find the nearest local Italian restaurant, they can first search in order of proximity, then refine the search based on preferences such as price and comfort class. They are then presented with full information about selected restaurants - opening hours, culinary specialties, reservation information, etc. The service even gives them a route description, showing step-by-step, how to reach the restaurant from their current position.
"After providing travel information to users in their home, office or car, through web services or navigation CD-ROMs, Michelin Travel Publications, together with Ericsson, now extends their services towards mobile phones users. More than ever, our aim remains to offer to tourists and travelers the right information at the right time and the right place," says Vincent Pilloy, Manager Digital Products, Michelin Travel Publications.
"Together with Michelin Travel Publications, we can now offer an end-to-end solution to operators that wish to provide their customers with the new high value services that mobile positioning technology enables," says Karl-Erik Moberg, at Ericsson Internet Applications.
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