TripAdvisor, one of the world’s leading travel site, has recently announced the launch of a new offline feature of its smartphone app, which allows travellers to download TripAdvisor reviews, photos and city maps before they go and then access this information on their trip when no data connection is available.
With expensive data charges becoming a huge pet peeve among travellers, this new offline feature allows travellers to access information on TripAdvisor throughout their trip to help them pick last-minute hotels, restaurants and attractions to visit–all while avoiding costly roaming charges.
According to TripAdvisor, currently the feature includes more than 300 city maps worldwide, with more to follow.
“The new offline feature for TripAdvisor’s smartphone app makes it an even more valuable ‘must have’ tool during your trip,” said Adam Medros, senior vice president of global product, TripAdvisor. “More and more travellers are making spur-of-the-moment decisions about where to go and what to do and need a useful travel resource. Travellers can now access user reviews, photos and maps throughout their trip to help them pick last-minute hotels, restaurants and attractions to visit–all while avoiding costly roaming charges.”
To access the new offline feature, TripAdvisor app users may search for a city within the app when a data connection is available and tap a button to download city content. Once downloaded, the app will automatically transition between the offline mode featuring 10 reviews per point of interest when no data connection is available, and the full live version of the app when it is cellular or Wi-Fi-connected.
Users may add and remove city maps as needed based on where they are visiting. Users may also download the latest version of the city map to sync the content with the reviews and opinions available on TripAdvisor’s constantly refreshed live site.
Bringing the fight to Google Maps
The new feature reminds us of the offline feature which is available on Google Maps. Google allows you to pre-save your maps to use offline and even custom name it into anything you like. To utilize this feature, simply search the area you are visiting, pull up the place info sheet that appears at the bottom of your screen and select, “Save map to use offline”. To find your offline maps (yes, you can save more than one at a time), simply tap on the profile icon and scroll away.
The Google Maps offline feature was only introduced recently. It makes sense for TripAdvisor to integrate the offline map feature into its current mobile app to give a true one stop experience for its users. After all, it is now the world’s most downloaded travel app.
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