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I think technology is tested heavily these days.. The other day, there was this commuter test in NY; TA's Annual Bike Vs. Subway Vs. Car Commuter Race and guess who won... the bicyclist :-))

read the full article ; http://gothamist.com/2007/05/18/tas_annual_bike.php

I did not understand how the "winner" was the guidebook, since 3/4 of the tasks were performed by the concierge. I don't understand the whole concept of this competition, either; sure you travel with a an iphone, but you carry a map as well, a guidebook, and you talk to people. In addition, different people have different googling/survival/orientation/interaction skills and will perform accordingly. Silly.

I agree Wally - Seems to me that having a guidebook and talking to people is an unfair advantage to having an iPhone and not talking to people.

(and having a Blackberry is definitley a disadvantage)

Another issue is how much your cell phone provider charges for accessing the Net over a foreign country's 3G cell phone network. Rogers/Fido charges Canadian iPhone users $30,000/Gb (3 cents/kb) when roaming in a foreign country vs. $5/Gb (monthly charge) for domestic access. At those rates, you could buy a lot of guidebooks.

>Another issue is how much your cell phone provider charges for accessing the Net over a foreign country's 3G cell phone network.
Not an issue in Russia really. All one needs to do is to buy a SIM-card from a local provider for a very reasonable price and put it in his cell phone. We do it all the time when in Russia...

the tour book wasn't even used to complete the tasks. as she said herself, the concierge planned her whole day.

f you have a smartphone, you can easily get a digital copy of a travel book. you can buy download travel books to your blackbery/iphone as well as walking tours and audio/video tours.

and regarding cell phone roaming charges...if you have a unlocked phone, its definitely easy to switch SIM cards and use local rates (which are usually way cheaper than anything offered in N. America). however, iphones from AT&T and Rogers are locked to the cell phone providers and won't work with SIM cards from other companies. same with blackberry as well if you got it through a cell phone carrier.

I agree with wally I don't get the concept and yes silly and yes all one needs is a SIM card I just thought that was a no brainer.

I would never use my phone in this way.

I do my research before I go somewhere by the internet, talking to people, books and so on.
I alway have everything in a travel journal by category, hotels, food, coffee, sites, art, nature or what ever the purpose of the trip plus a fold out map then I make notes about each place in my journal for future reference.

As far as using my phone I create a folder in my address book for each trip or location with the numbers and addresses add notes and sync with my iphone. I just cannot imagine spending time googling while I am on a trip, plus how can you read it.

I rather be ready and equipped with everything and then let serendipity play out the rest.

My partner has an iPhone, and uses it more for (a) selecting a local eatery when we can't decide, using Urban Spoon, and (b) entertainment while dining out/waiting/wondering about something when not at home. For serious travel, we plan ahead. For local stuff, it's a useful tool/scapegoat! (And as a librarian, for foreign travel, we ALWAYS get guidebooks -- too!)

it's almost like using calculators for adding and subtracting. Mental addition and subtraction always beats out the calculator.

I'd use the guidebook for the majority of research, and then use my iPhone to verify maps and such.

Perhaps the whole point was to illustrate that the electronics cut off people from knowledgeable locals? That and, I've read several guidebooks that say "talk to locals, they know everything."

On the flip side, which is easy to see anecdotally. Walk around a city: see people talking on their mobile phones, or writing SMSs? They do not engage with the world around them.

I usually break out my Blackberry while traveling (particularly in New York) but I use it primarily for walking/transit directions and occasionally checking the hours for a particular store or museum. I do buy several guidebooks and spend tons of time browsing websites and online directories and usually end up memorizing addresses and general geographic details (like, attraction A is within walking distance of attraction B and it's near a bunch of restaurants).