Hey, did you hear the news? As of this week, anyone in the United States can own their very own Google Glass and can now be a Glass Explorer. Exciting, right? You know that you went and bought yours right away!
Ok, so now that you've gone out and plunked down your $1,500 (because you either make a lot more money than I do, or you don't pay rent) and now you're sitting on your couch wearing your new device and... well, now what do you do with it?
If it were up to Google, you'd be out exploring with it right now, not sitting around reading this article (though I appreciate that you are, I really am). So, to help get you moving, Google has added integrations with three apps that it says will appeal especially to those who are traveling.
Glass users can now add "Glassware," or what the company calls the apps on Google Glass, for TripIt, Foursquare and OpenTable, it was announced on Wednesday night.
"Some of the most exciting experiences that our Explorers have shared with us are from their travels with Glass," the company wrote. "Glass has become a favorite travel companion because it helps you enjoy your vacation without getting lost in your technology, and now we have new Glassware that will continue to help you discover and explore with ease."
The news apps are in addition to some of the existing travel-related apps that have already been added, including Field Trip, Word Lens, Google Now, Search and Maps.
The company added Word Lens, an app that allows users to translate printed foreign words into English using the Google Glass camera, back in November. Field Trip, an app that acts like a virtual tour guide, showing users cards and notifications about different locations, was added in August of last year.
"Whether you’re trying to find your gate at the airport, the best coffee shop in Austin or a reservation for 2 in New York City, Glass has you covered," said Google.
On some level I get why Google is adding these types of apps: they give people even more incentive to buy the device. But, honestly, if you were willing to spend that much on it at this point anyway, where both the hardware and software sides are not yet completed, I don't know how much more reason you actually needed.
(Image source: plus.google.com)
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Startup/Business
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About TripIt
TripIt, the trip management company, helps people organize and share their travel plans no matter where they book. Travelers simply forward their travel confirmation emails from over 1,000 sites to plans@tripit.com. TripIt automatically creates a master itinerary that combines all their travel plans plus weather, maps, restaurants and more.
With TripIt it’s easy to share and collaborate on trips with friends and colleagues in social networks. TripIt itineraries can be accessed via online, mobile device, free Android, BlackBerry and iPhone apps, personal calendars and social networking sites including the free LinkedIn travel app.
TripIt is an open itinerary platform that works with a growing eco-system of travel and mobile partners. The new TripIt Pro premium service for frequent travelers automatically monitors travel itineraries, providing mobile alerts, alternate flight options, frequent traveler point tracking and automated trip sharing.
TripIt Founders
TripIt was founded in San Francisco in October 2006 and launched in September 2007. The company has raised $13.1 million from investors that include O’Reilly AlphaTech Ventures (OATV) and Azure Capital Partners. The TripIt co-founders are an experienced team of travel and technology executives:
Gregg Brockway, President – Former president of Classic Vacations (an Expedia company), and co-founder and chief product officer at Hotwire
Scott Hintz, VP Business Development– Former senior vice president of product at Hotwire, and strategy consultant at Accenture.
Andrew Denmark, VP Engineering – Former engineering director at Opsware, and chief technology officer at CityRealty.com.
TripIt Technology
At the heart of TripIt is the Itinerator, which automatically creates structured trip itineraries from the unstructured data in travel confirmation emails. It also aggregates related data from other websites to provide useful travel information, like weather, maps and directions. The Itinerator is an open technology platform that works with all major travel websites and all major email systems. TripIt's goal is to provide one place for all travel information, accessible whenever travelers need it.
TripIt has also been architected for social networking and includes many options for trip sharing and collaboration. Travelers can share trips with people inside and outside their TripIt Network, and post plans on social networks like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Closeness alerts tell travleers when their trips overlap with other people in their TripIt network. TripIt Company Groups tracks and shares the dates and locations of employee business travel, and TripIt for Google Apps has Company Groups and a several Google gadgets to help organizations and individual travelers manage their business trips.
TripIt has an open API that powers My Travel on LinkedIn and TripIt for Facebook Connect. Additionally, hundreds of developers use the API to intergrate TripIt with their web services and mobile apps.
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OpenTable is the leading supplier of reservation, table management and guest management software for restaurants. In addition, the company operates www.opentable.com, the world’s most popular website for making restaurant reservations online.
With more than 8,000 customers throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Spain and Japan, the OpenTable hardware and software system replaces pen-and-paper at the host stand. It automates the process of taking reservations and managing tables, while allowing restaurants to build robust diner databases for superior guest recognition and targeted e-mail marketing.
For diners, concierges and administrative professionals, the website provides a fast, efficient way to find available tables that meet desired criteria for cuisine, price and location at a specified time. Reservations are free and can be made around the clock. The website is directly connected to the thousands of computerized reservation systems at OpenTable restaurants. Search results reflect actual, "real-time" availability and reservations are immediately recorded in the same electronic reservation book used by the maitre'd.
OpenTable works with many distribution partners, including AOL CityGuide, Chicago Tribune's metromix.com, Citysearch.com, DiRoNA, Los Angeles Times' calendarlive.com, NYC & Company, Time Out New York, San Francisco Chronicle's sfgate.com, washingtonpost.com, and Yahoo! Inc.
OpenTable Europe Limited is a company registered in England and Wales with company number 5266444 and with a registered address of Carmelite 50 Embankment Blackfriars London EC4Y 0DX.