Travel website Priceline has purchased Kayak.com for $40 per share, it was announced today. The deal amounts to about $1.8 billion, with the Priceline Group paying about $500 million of that in cash and the rest coming in equity and assumed stock options. The deal is expected to close during the first quarter of 2013.
Wikipedia may create its own travel guide that would compete with books such as Lonely Planet. According to Skift, the
MoboTap has launched updates for both the iPad and iPhone versions of its mobile Dolphin Browser. The iPad version has gained Retina graphics, as well as a new Browsing History feature that allows users to see past sites and searches displayed as suggestions while searching in the URL bar. Meanwhile, the iPhone version has gained a Tab Restore feature that will restore previously opened tabs if Dolphin is shut down while running in the background. The update will also now remember the last used keyboard layout, and includes various stability and performance enhancements.
At this year's CES, iLuv expanded its lineup with a new portable speaker case and a charging station designed for travelers. The company's latest speaker case, the SmashBox Pro, runs on AA batteries and provides external controls for all of a phones major features. Meanwhile, the DreamTraveler allows users to charge multiple devices in one location.
Mobile advertising network Greystripe surveyed iPad and smartphone users this summer about their travel habits and how their mobile devices help them with travelling -- either through setting up travel bookings for transportation and hotels or as a GPS unit or method to pass the time while in transit. The results show a strong link between travel activities and iPad usage, with 93 percent of users engaging with their devices while travelling, and 91 percent using it for a travel-related activity.
Flying Connected is offering an iPad rental service in New York City that provides visitors access to the mobile device for as low as $15 a day. Customers can choose between first and second generation iPad models, as well as Basic, Plus and Premium plans for each. The Basic plan provides users with a WiFi only iPad preloaded with applications, while the Plus and Premium plans offer 3G internet access and preinstalled apps, movies, books, and magazines. Arrangements can be made for the device to be dropped off at the customers hotel or at either JFK or LGA airports.
FutureTap, who acquired the travel guide and virtual-reality app Where To? two and a half years ago from original publisher TapTapTap, have published a graphical blog entry (reproduced below) that features unusually candid details about the sales and changes to the app over the course of its life. The app, which locates nearby establishments in map view or can present information in an "augmented reality" view, is on sale for a limited time.
Wazado Mobile Applications, best known for its NAVV turn-by-turn GPS navigation app, has created an iPad-only offering called NAVV Traveller, which combines offline maps with online GPS (if available) and travel-assistant type features such as weather conditions, real-time traffic, points of interest and in-app posting to Facebook or SMS. The app is available for North America and Western Europe so far.
STM has released a new bag that lets travelers store their laptop and other travel necessities conveniently in one bag. The Rouge Roller features an extendable handle and two in-line skate wheels; it has been made large enough to fit a laptop, documents, accessories and a few changes of clothes, but small enough to fit in the overhead compartment of most planes. The laptop compartment of the bag is large enough to fit a 17-inch MacBook Pro, and has been throughly padded to ensure a laptop will stay safe while kept inside.
Modality has begun releasing Frommer's line of travel guides for the iPhone and iPod touch. The 2008 editions of Frommer's for New York, Paris, San Francisco and London are available for download from the App Store. Additional cities will be added later this year. Guides include travel tips, hotel and restaurant reviews, interactive maps, web links, phone numbers and other location-based travel information.
