UK publishing company Archant and developer of mobile city guides, MyCityWay have teamed up to launch a new guide to London that goes much further than the average sight-seeing app.
MyCityWay London24 is a free app for iOS that contains a set of ‘mini-apps’ that hold information about locations and news in the capital. The app is aimed to be useful for both visitors to the city as well as people who live in London, so the available data is customisable and not just about sight seeing and restaurants.
The mini-apps within the app allow the user check up-to-the minute traffic feeds with live camera images of London’s busiest road intersections, find the nearest parking spot or simply fetch a proximity-based list of the places to get a coffee.
The app also allows users to find out what’s showing at the nearest cinema, discover concerts or special events; go shopping nearby and connect with others to share tips about places and events. There’s even links to emergency services, all based on geolocation.
The scope of mini-apps available is impressive and the idea of replicating an existing app layout for mobile makes MyCityWay London24 very easy to use. Each icon leads to a simple list of locations, they in turn open up with more details like phone numbers, maps and a short description.
The bonus function is the ability to add your own locations and share them. So with use, the app will become more useful to people as it lists more options and local residents can share their knowledge on what looks good nearby.
There was one hang up with the app’s news feed. The news available when we tested the app was nine hours old. In a mobile society that demands real time results, that’s not all that great. But as the app is brand new, it could be that this is just starting to emerge. It certainly needs to be up to the minute around the clock if the app is called London24.
The timing is good for Archant and MyCityWay to release this app. London will be filled with visitors over the summer who will come to take part in the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations or to explore the Olympic Games. It’s also refreshing that the guide is not just aimed at tourists. MyCityWay Co-Founder, Puneet Mehta, says:
“We are thrilled to partner with Archant and London24 – innovative leaders who share our passion for the urban ecosystem – to extend MyCityWay’s mobile guides to Londoners and the international visitors that come to this amazing city. My fellow co-founders and I created MyCityWay with the goal of helping both residents and tourists navigate, explore and enjoy the world’s cities like never before. Our new MyCityWay London24 app is a metro-licious, comprehensive and always connected mobile dashboard that personalises your London experience.”
It will be interesting to see just how many city guides and transport apps appear in time for London’s big year as a host. It’s doubtful that forthcoming apps will be quite so comprehensive, but we’re fairly sure others will be unlikely to teach us new words like ‘metro-licious’.
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