Here is an interesting piece on a company creating mp3 walking tours of major cities. They’re doing it with the “iPod Generation” in mind (complete with a “motley crew of punk rockers, exotic dancers, tribal leaders, and FBI agents” as narrators, which strikes me as a generalization of the so-called iPod generation). But, a number of other young companies are beginning to do this for other types of self-guided tours and different demographics too, I’m sure.

I don’t believe that this technology is only useful to the young and tech-savvy. People of all ages seem to be able to use the audio guide devices at art museums. That’s really all the more complex it needs to be.

Imagine taking a walking tour of a city like Santa Fe, NM. You order your walking guide ahead of time or buy it at a kiosk downtown or at the chamber office. It comes in multiple languages and with various content choices (art galleries, architecture, culture, etc.). Then, you can choose from audio only - loaded to your mp3 player - or a preloaded device that is a simple mp3 player and headphones. In fact the device could be a simple flash device that the user could keep and plug in via USB to their computer at home to put their own music on later, or simply throw away. The amount of flash memory needed for a tour is nearing disposable prices now; after all, we do have disposable cell phones. Maybe a drop box at the airport would allow them to get a small deposit back…

Who knows exactly… But, my point is that this will not be limited to the young iPod carrying crowd, and the company that’s most successful will appeal to all ages and all demographics.

iPod, therefore I travel


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