Sch-Sch-Sch-Map!

Burton Holmes Travelogues:
The Greatest Traveler of His Time, 1892-1952
(Photo Books)

Una Grande Storia Italiana. Valentino Garavani

America Swings
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100 All-Time Favorite Movies
(25th Anniversary Special Edtn)

This, people, is a smart service. Schmap, provider of interactive online maps with guide and tourism info, has just pushed an innovative iPhone-friendly solution into public beta. The service allows users to quickly and easily publish iPhone-friendly contact details with a map on their websites. When we say "Quickly and easily" we mean it. First of all, no registration is required and the service is completely free. Secondly, the setup from beginning to end takes about two minutes. The user need only enter the contact details in a few form fields on the Schmap site, copy the resulting code and paste it onto their homepage. Done. The results will be completely invisible to most browsers but visit the site on an iPhone and bar will appear across the top of the screen. Tap it and you will be brought to a page with contact details; rotate the iPhone and a map will be displayed pointing you to the exact location of the business. Schmap also has plans to make the service S60, Android and BlackBerry-friendly in the near future, meaning that the same piece of code will yield properly-formatted results for each of the aforementioned platforms. No changes to the code currently in place will be required when the update comes around. The key challenge for Schmap of course will be getting exposure with less-web savvy retail business owners, restaurants, bars, etc so that they know the service exists. We wonder what other cool services could be added to websites in a similar no-registration, two minute-implementation way? For a sample of Schmap's service in action, hit www.purefoodandwine.com from an iPhone.

User Feedback - Schmap Guides

"Schmap is a great idea! How better to help someone navigate their way through a town they don't really know?"

"This is an AWESOME tool before and when going out on journeys!!!!"

"GREAT resource for those who like to travel. I am heading off to Amsterdam later this month and found Schmap a handy tool in planning
part of my trip."

"Awesome and then some!!!! Thank you for helping educate myself and some youngsters about Europe. Believe me that your efforts are more then rewarded if my enthusiasm
is any measure."

"Pretty impressive. This is the sort of
Web 2.0 thing that will be hitting us over
the next few years."

"An excellent guide and I was able to
print out the tour maps along with the sites
along each tour."

"A nifty feature is the "Tour" mode. Very useful if you're planning a day-tour of the city and don't feel like paging through a 330 page city guide."

"Schmap combines some of the best
Web 2.0 features into an impressive dynamic
travel tool."

"It's great for vacation planning or even for a move. In fact, I spent 20 minutes earlier planning my move to Toronto (later this year), finding a few affordable hotels I can stay at until I find a suitable work/live studio. It can also be used to publish an events schedule for a reunion or other get-together."

"This has to be the best of its kind and the
easiest to use as well. Planning a holiday to the United States just got a whole lot easier plus will save time and money, both needed to
enjoy my holiday!"

"I think it's great!! I certainly am one of those people that like travel guides with photos so I can recognize a building or monument in case I get lost! Also seeing other people's photos is one of the things that makes me want to go see the country or a particular place."

"Brilliant. I love the map aspect. It is one of the best on-line guides I have come across."

User Feedback - Schmap Widgets

"This technology looks fantastic."

"I'm always looking for something new and exciting for my site, and this certainly fits that bill."

"Looks like a pretty nifty feature."

"I love technology, especially all
internet-related technology, so I'm honored
that you've chosen my site as a potential showcase site."

"It looks like the "schmap" would be a nice
benefit for my readers and me and I am eager
to try it out."

"I am flattered and excited about getting involved with the schmap project."

"It looks like just the information I try to provide on the site."

"They're very impressive."

"It looks great - I think the functionality is very cool and useful - Schmap looks fantastic!"

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"Maybe it's time to ditch your oldfangled maps for a handy new SchMap?" TIME magazine 2008

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