(14 October 2008) Lonely Planet has created a series of audio phrasebooks for ten different languages for use on mobile phones.
The phrasebooks, created in partnership with mobile travel application specialist Steape, convert English into Mandarin, Vietnamese, Cantonese, German, French, Italian, Japanese, Thai, Czech and Spanish.
The guides are available on any mobile phone running the Java MIDP 2.0 platform.
Steape has also built versions for Blackberry and Windows Mobile devices.
Around 200 important phrases are included in the initial English version of the service, with other languages in development.
Chris Boden, Lonely Planet’s director of global business development, said: “Our phrasebooks are extremely popular and an essential travel tool.
“It is a natural progression for us to make this content available on mobile phones.
The applications will be made available through handset manufacturers and mobile network operators worldwide, Lonely Planet said.
Marc van Bommel, chief executive of Steape, said: “The partnership with Lonely Planet is extremely important for us.
“Co-operation with such an iconic brand in the travel industry confirms that Steape is on the right track with respect to the quality and usability of our applications.”
