AUGMENTED REALITY TRAVEL APP ‘WORLD AROUND ME’ PROVING A HIT AMONGST INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS TRAVELLERS
News provided by SKV Communications on Monday 3rd Feb 2014
The free augmented reality iOS and Android app ‘World Around Me’ (WAM) brings Google Maps to life: making navigating an unfamiliar city as easy as holding up your smartphone.
Since launching WAM in 2012, Lancaster based start-up WT InfoTech, realised that although WAM was popular with travellers of all ages and inclinations, the app was quickly being taken up by business travellers across the globe. Over 20,000 users across 190 different countries are already using WAM, and by February 2013 70% of users on the iOS identified as business travellers.
The app has been designed to make it easy for business travellers to quickly and easily navigate unfamiliar cities across the world, allowing them to quickly and easily overlay their physical surroundings with digitally generated information about near-by facilities.
All the user has to do is input their own search terms, or select one of a number of categories, hold up their smartphone and watch as the world around them populates with digitally generated signposts.
Each signpost updates in real time, highlighting the direction of the location, how far it is away and what other visitors have thought of it, giving the user an in-depth, yet intuitive understanding of their surrounding area.
If the user wants more information all they need to do is click on the signpost and they get full contact details, user reviews and full directions. The latest update also allows users to check on all the things a business traveller might require, including whether the locations features wifi, and, if relevant, how much it costs, whether it takes reservations or credit card payments, even whether it offers outdoor seating!
The application sources its information from Google Places and Foursquare so users are guaranteed that the range of options WAM offers is comprehensive and that there will be a substantial pool of user reviews wherever they are in the world.
Co-founder and CEO Tarun Sainani said: “As a regular business traveller myself, I’m aware at how difficult it can be to find your way around a new city, especially when you know you’re only going to be there for a couple of days.
“Busy business travellers often don’t have the luxury of exploring the city at a more relaxed pace, or the time to research the best restaurants, bar and hotels, let alone museums, doctors surgeries and superstores – WAM makes all this easy.”
“Whether you’re looking for somewhere to grab a nightcap after a late-night conference, a great restaurant to take potential clients or a convenient hotel to grab a few hours sleep, WAM takes away the stress, letting you enjoy the city you’re in.”
WAM has featured in the iOS top 10 UK travel apps and has over 375 five star reviews on Google Play.
Tarun Sainani co-founded WT InfoTech a year after he completed his masters in E-Business and Innovation at the University of Lancaster. He is dedicated to the idea of the augmented city and has been working hard to involve the community in Lancaster to develop clever ways of enhancing members of the public’s experience of the urban landscape.
The full version of WAM is available for iOS via the Apple App Store at £0.99. The Google play version for Android is available for £0.99. A free ‘lite’ version is also available for iOS and Android users who want to try before they buy.
To find out more about WAM and WT InfoTech you can visit www.worldaroundmeapp.com you can also watch an introductory video here.
For more information contact Daniel Kennedy, Kirsten Pettigrew, Max Howard or Laurence Laidler at firstname.secondname@skvcommunications.co.uk or call 0161 838 7770.
-ENDS-
Notes for editors
WT InfoTech was founded in 2012. The team consists of co-founder and CEO Tarun Sainani, co-founder and CTO Rahul Sainani & UX Designer Ankit Dembla.
As well as developing WAM WT InfoTech have developed mobile augmented reality apps for Brantwood museum in Coniston and University of Warwick.
WAM has been rated by the”National Geographic Traveller” as “one of the best local guide apps”.
The idea to build WAM came in May 2012 from co-founder Rahul Sainani, who was then a 3rd year Engineering Undergraduate. WAM’s inventor Rahul Sainani, is one of IBM’s Students for a Smarter Planet. To know the story behind WAM check out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yg596GUST_U
Tarun Sainani has over 8 years of IT consulting experience with MNC’s in India and the US. He spent the summer of 2011 at IBM’s Almaden Research Centre in Silicon Valley as a Distinguished Visiting Scholar in the Services Research Group and he has a double master’s degree in E-Business & Innovation (09-10) and Digital Innovation (10-11) from Lancaster University.
He is the Vice Chairman for the User Experience Special Interest Group at the International Society of Service Innovation Professionals.
He tweets at www.twitter.com/tarunsainani his LinkedIn profile is http://uk.linkedin.com/in/sainanitarun.
You can visit WT InfoTech’s website at www.wtinfotech.co.uk.
Since launching WAM in 2012, Lancaster based start-up WT InfoTech, realised that although WAM was popular with travellers of all ages and inclinations, the app was quickly being taken up by business travellers across the globe. Over 20,000 users across 190 different countries are already using WAM, and by February 2013 70% of users on the iOS identified as business travellers.
The app has been designed to make it easy for business travellers to quickly and easily navigate unfamiliar cities across the world, allowing them to quickly and easily overlay their physical surroundings with digitally generated information about near-by facilities.
All the user has to do is input their own search terms, or select one of a number of categories, hold up their smartphone and watch as the world around them populates with digitally generated signposts.
Each signpost updates in real time, highlighting the direction of the location, how far it is away and what other visitors have thought of it, giving the user an in-depth, yet intuitive understanding of their surrounding area.
If the user wants more information all they need to do is click on the signpost and they get full contact details, user reviews and full directions. The latest update also allows users to check on all the things a business traveller might require, including whether the locations features wifi, and, if relevant, how much it costs, whether it takes reservations or credit card payments, even whether it offers outdoor seating!
The application sources its information from Google Places and Foursquare so users are guaranteed that the range of options WAM offers is comprehensive and that there will be a substantial pool of user reviews wherever they are in the world.
Co-founder and CEO Tarun Sainani said: “As a regular business traveller myself, I’m aware at how difficult it can be to find your way around a new city, especially when you know you’re only going to be there for a couple of days.
“Busy business travellers often don’t have the luxury of exploring the city at a more relaxed pace, or the time to research the best restaurants, bar and hotels, let alone museums, doctors surgeries and superstores – WAM makes all this easy.”
“Whether you’re looking for somewhere to grab a nightcap after a late-night conference, a great restaurant to take potential clients or a convenient hotel to grab a few hours sleep, WAM takes away the stress, letting you enjoy the city you’re in.”
WAM has featured in the iOS top 10 UK travel apps and has over 375 five star reviews on Google Play.
Tarun Sainani co-founded WT InfoTech a year after he completed his masters in E-Business and Innovation at the University of Lancaster. He is dedicated to the idea of the augmented city and has been working hard to involve the community in Lancaster to develop clever ways of enhancing members of the public’s experience of the urban landscape.
The full version of WAM is available for iOS via the Apple App Store at £0.99. The Google play version for Android is available for £0.99. A free ‘lite’ version is also available for iOS and Android users who want to try before they buy.
To find out more about WAM and WT InfoTech you can visit www.worldaroundmeapp.com you can also watch an introductory video here.
For more information contact Daniel Kennedy, Kirsten Pettigrew, Max Howard or Laurence Laidler at firstname.secondname@skvcommunications.co.uk or call 0161 838 7770.
-ENDS-
Notes for editors
WT InfoTech was founded in 2012. The team consists of co-founder and CEO Tarun Sainani, co-founder and CTO Rahul Sainani & UX Designer Ankit Dembla.
As well as developing WAM WT InfoTech have developed mobile augmented reality apps for Brantwood museum in Coniston and University of Warwick.
WAM has been rated by the”National Geographic Traveller” as “one of the best local guide apps”.
The idea to build WAM came in May 2012 from co-founder Rahul Sainani, who was then a 3rd year Engineering Undergraduate. WAM’s inventor Rahul Sainani, is one of IBM’s Students for a Smarter Planet. To know the story behind WAM check out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yg596GUST_U
Tarun Sainani has over 8 years of IT consulting experience with MNC’s in India and the US. He spent the summer of 2011 at IBM’s Almaden Research Centre in Silicon Valley as a Distinguished Visiting Scholar in the Services Research Group and he has a double master’s degree in E-Business & Innovation (09-10) and Digital Innovation (10-11) from Lancaster University.
He is the Vice Chairman for the User Experience Special Interest Group at the International Society of Service Innovation Professionals.
He tweets at www.twitter.com/tarunsainani his LinkedIn profile is http://uk.linkedin.com/in/sainanitarun.
You can visit WT InfoTech’s website at www.wtinfotech.co.uk.
Press release distributed by Pressat on behalf of SKV Communications, on Monday 3 February, 2014. For more information subscribe and follow https://pressat.co.uk/
Business Travel Mobile Android App Ios International City Business & Finance Travel & Tourism
Published By
SKV Communications
0161 838 7770
kirsten.pettigrew@skvcommunications.co.uk
http://worldaroundmeapp.com/
0161 838 7770
kirsten.pettigrew@skvcommunications.co.uk
http://worldaroundmeapp.com/
Visit Newsroom
You just read:
AUGMENTED REALITY TRAVEL APP ‘WORLD AROUND ME’ PROVING A HIT AMONGST INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS TRAVELLERS
News from this source: