Big City Apps from Travel Guide Series

In the middle of May, Swedish travel guide company Reseförlaget, which is a part of Bonnierförlagen, launched five iPhone apps with travel guides to as many big cities: Barcelona, Berlin, London, New York and Paris. The apps are based on the Topp 10 guidebooks that the company publishes and contain everything from sights to restaurant tips to public transportation information, with a Top 10 list of what to avoid in each city.

"The Topp 10 series format and amount of information makes it great for a smartphone," says Bengt Hennings, product manager at Reseförlaget. "The big advantage with apps compared to books are the maps. Since we use the phone's GPS, you don't have to pay a lot of money for data roaming."

The idea came originally from the English company Dorling Kindersley, which Bonnierförlagen has worked closely with. Reseförlagen's apps are updated, translated and "Swedified" versions  of the apps Dorling Kindersley developed and produced in just over a year.

"Sales of the guidebook apps are still in their infancy," says Hennings. "Thanks to our cooperation with Dorling Kindersley we can be part of the beginning. The big challenge will be creating a reasonable sales level for our apps."