Flight Assistant

September 29, 2009

WARSAW. SEPTEMBER 29, 2009—Polish mobile solutions innovator Psiloc today announced the release of Flight Assistant, a downloadable plug-in that enables mobile phone users to not only search and check the status of flights, but to also be alerted to flight status changes automatically.

“We took a look at the market and saw that there was a real need for such an application,” Marek Filipiak, Psiloc founder and president, said. “The frequent flier is going to find himself in situations where his flight has been changed or delayed—it’s the nature of the beast—but being informed of such changes real time can really take the stress out of a business trip.”

A prototype version of the Flight Assistant plug-in was debuted to much fanfare under the “Flights” moniker at the Nokia World ’09 conference last month. The new upgrade will now be rebranded and marketed as Flight Assistant, a plug-in for Psiloc’s already popular World Traveler platform for mobile phones.

The World Traveler application, which already has some 500,000 users world-wide—and which is now seeing some 5,000 new users daily—includes features that allow users to check the time in multiple time zones, as well as the weather and currency exchange rates for a user’s destination.

The Nokia ’09 conference was not the first time Psiloc, known for Total irRemote (which allows users to turn their smartphones into universal television remote controls), has caught the attention of the international mobile market. The company first grabbed headlines in 2002 when Psiloc’s Arabic localization application, which was specifically developed for Nokia Communicators, was accepted as the new standard in the Arab world.

Psiloc hopes to continue this trend, and Filipiak noted that Flight Assistant will soon be packaged with new, premium plug-ins, such as the ability to forward travel alerts via SMS to a third party of a user’s choice.

This would be a natural addition to Flight Assistant, being both necessary and economical for the traveler, Filipiak added.

“We’ve realized that there is also the need to send news of flight status changes to loved ones or fellow travelers—thus the automatic SMS feature, which is coming soon,” he said.

The Flight Assistant plug-in, available as a premium download for €5.95 for a 30-day subscription, or €29.95 for a one-year subscription, is currently available for a limited time on a free-trial basis.

World Traveler is compatible with all Nokia S60 phones and is available now at www.worldtraveler.biz.

ABOUT PSILOC
Psiloc is one of the world’s leading providers of smartphone software solutions. Psiloc creates innovative applications that let users unlock the potential of their smartphones. Its main focus is developing client–server mobile applications and sophisticated solutions for GSM operators and business customers. The key to Psiloc’s success is having a deep working knowledge of Symbian OS and, together with a professional creative team, works closely with the largest players in the mobile phone market.

WARSAW. SEPTEMBER 29, 2009—Polish mobile solutions innovator Psiloc today announced the release of Flight Assistant, a downloadable plug-in that enables mobile phone users to not only search and check the status of flights, but to also be alerted to flight status changes automatically.

“We took a look at the market and saw that there was a real need for such an application,” Marek Filipiak, Psiloc founder and president, said. “The frequent flier is going to find himself in situations where his flight has been changed or delayed—it’s the nature of the beast—but being informed of such changes real time can really take the stress out of a business trip.”

A prototype version of the Flight Assistant plug-in was debuted to much fanfare under the “Flights” moniker at the Nokia World ’09 conference last month. The new upgrade will now be rebranded and marketed as Flight Assistant, a plug-in for Psiloc’s already popular World Traveler platform for mobile phones.

The World Traveler application, which already has some 500,000 users world-wide—and which is now seeing some 5,000 new users daily—includes features that allow users to check the time in multiple time zones, as well as the weather and currency exchange rates for a user’s destination.

The Nokia ’09 conference was not the first time Psiloc, known for Total irRemote (which allows users to turn their smartphones into universal television remote controls), has caught the attention of the international mobile market. The company first grabbed headlines in 2002 when Psiloc’s Arabic localization application, which was specifically developed for Nokia Communicators, was accepted as the new standard in the Arab world.

Psiloc hopes to continue this trend, and Filipiak noted that Flight Assistant will soon be packaged with new, premium plug-ins, such as the ability to forward travel alerts via SMS to a third party of a user’s choice.

This would be a natural addition to Flight Assistant, being both necessary and economical for the traveler, Filipiak added.

“We’ve realized that there is also the need to send news of flight status changes to loved ones or fellow travelers—thus the automatic SMS feature, which is coming soon,” he said.

The Flight Assistant plug-in, available as a premium download for €5.95 for a 30-day subscription, or €29.95 for a one-year subscription, is currently available for a limited time on a free-trial basis.

World Traveler is compatible with all Nokia S60 phones and is available now at www.worldtraveler.biz.

ABOUT PSILOC

Psiloc is one of the world’s leading providers of smartphone software solutions. Psiloc creates innovative applications that let users unlock the potential of their smartphones. Its main focus is developing client–server mobile applications and sophisticated solutions for GSM operators and business customers. The key to Psiloc’s success is having a deep working knowledge of Symbian OS and, together with a professional creative team, works closely with the largest players in the mobile phone market.

Travel light—and secure those valuables…

September 28, 2009

Bulent Akman, Marketing Coordinator, Psiloc

Bulent Akman, Marketing Coordinator, Psiloc

Short of violence, a traveler’s worst nightmare may be theft. Whether we are talking about teams of pickpockets or unscrupulous hotel employees, the sense of violation when valuables are stolen is devastating. Then there are the endless phone calls to cancel credit cards, the panicked scrambles for cash, the trips to the embassy and the police to report the crime/replace the passport, etc.

You probably get the picture.

Even so, I’d say that relatively few world travelers put much thought into strategies that combat theft. After all, vacations are about fun, not worries and paranoia. That said, precautionary measures go a long way toward ensuring a stress-free trip. Moreover, the age-old security adage  applies: there is no patch for human stupidity.

Here are a few security tips well worth considering before your next trip.

  1. “Make two photocopies of valuables such as your passport, tickets, visas, travelers’ cheques, credit card numbers, insurance policy, itinerary and phone card details,” the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade writes. “Keep one copy with you in a separate place to the original and leave another copy with someone at home.”

On this note, here’s a checklist of travel documents to copy:

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Flight rage and stress reduction…

September 18, 2009

Bulent Akman, Marketing Coordinator, Psiloc

Bulent Akman, Marketing Coordinator, Psiloc

A traveler was waiting patiently in line at the check–in desk of a major airline. The line was quite long and he noticed the executive in front of him growing angrier by the minute. By the time the executive made it to the desk, he was in a rage and shouting complaints at the attendant as if she were personally responsible for the long line (but of course, she wasn’t).

The attendant smiled kindly throughout the tirade and calmly proceeded to check in her most recent victim of “flight rage”—and when all was said and done, the executive was admittedly amazed by how professionally she had behaved. But when a second traveler began to compliment her on her performance, she just smiled and said:

“It was nothing at all, sir. That gentleman is flying to London but his luggage is flying to Manila.”

I hope the previous story is only that, a story. As a frequent flier, I would prefer to believe such things are possible—only how many times have you personally witnessed travelers behaving badly? “Too many” is probably your answer, but in my opinion most such problems are due to lack of information. (more…)

Travelers, hotels and a skewed reality that needs to change…

September 14, 2009

Preston Smith, Editor, World Traveler

Preston Smith, Editor, World Traveler

Let’s put this bluntly: First, most travelers have only a vague awareness of their rights. Second, the travel industry is populated by sharks, who not only tend to look out for themselves, but who in reality have little choice in the matter.

A typical case in point: A traveler from “X” country in the “Old EU” gets a room overlooking a garbage bin instead of the promised view of the sea. He goes after the hotel on the spot, threatens to invoke his country’s law against both the hotel and his travel agency, and he is then bumped up to the equivalent of a honeymoon suite with a free, stocked bar for the remainder of his stay.

Now let’s take a traveler from “Y” country in the “New EU.” He gets the same room, possibly complains to someone at the reception desk, but generally he  just grits his teeth and accepts the reality that has been forced upon his “vacation”—if it can still be called that in any sense of the word.

Both situations happen literally every day—especially in summer and (but not exclusively) in the “last minute” sector. It’s ugly and perhaps the nature of the beast, but it doesn’t have to happen to you.

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