walki-talki.com Travel Blog

It’s a done deal. Our fabulous walking tour of the most dazzling, must-see destinations in Edinburgh is on sale on The App Store.

Learn about Braveheart, Castlehill, Sir Walter Scott and the nuances of Scottish cuisine that gave us deep fried Snickers bars, all from a totally self-contained and convenient app on your iPhone or iPod Touch. Follow the route to Grassmarket, visit the gravesite of the most loyal canine in the history of the world, find the best shopping in town and get acquainted with the rich Scottish intellectual history. Scotland’s contributions to economics, physics, chemistry, literature and philosophy are immeasurable, and this fantastic walking tour of the great city that cultivated all this culture will give you a full appreciation of these contributions.

And, if this sounds like an overstated aggrandizement of Scottland and Edinburgh, one only need to look to the last two British Prime Ministers to gain an appreciation of how influential Edinburgh remains as a vibrant world capital: Tony Blair was born in Edinburgh and Gordon Brown graduated from the University of Edinburgh. Edinburgh also hosts one of the largest and most prestigious art festivals in the world every August: the Edinburgh International Art Festival and the attached Fringe Festival. And, if you have any doubts at all about the greatness of Scottland.

And, of course, Sean Connery is Scottish.

So, if you’re going to Edinburgh, August is the best time. Taking the walki-talki.com walking tour of Edinburgh can be done anytime. Buy it for iPhone OS  from The App Store, or for any device from our online store.

2010 is upon us, and with its arrival walki-talki.com enters its fourth year of business. We remain one of the surviving pioneers of digital audio walking tours, and we proceed as the company with the deepest device penetration: walki-talki.com is the only company to sell its tours as plain mp3 files for any device and as apps for the iPhone and iPod Touch.

The generic mp3 packages can be purchased from our online store, and you can find our iPhone app collection on The App Store.

We also remain among the best reviewed digital tour companies on the web, and we have plans to expand our catalog to some of the less known but most desirable locales in Europe. And, if another mobile platform becomes as popular as the iPhone OS platform, we may expand our presence to it, as well. It is way too early to pick the next winner, however.

2010 may prove to be the year in which digital tourism finally breaks out of obscurity and becomes a travel mainstay, and the year in which walki-talki becomes one of its major players. Whatever happens, I would simply like to wish everyone a healthy and prosperous 2010, a year in which everyone will have the opportunity, the resources and the freedom to travel to far away places.

We are very happy to announce that Rome: The Ancient City has been released for the iPhone and iPod touch. This fascinating walk takes you on a tour the heart of ancient Rome, as was seen 2000 years ago in Julius Ceasar’s time.

Rome: The Ancient City is available in the App Store now for just $9.99.

In addition to adding yet another city to our iPhone catalog, this is the first city to be released with version 1.1 of our player software. The rest of our published iPhone catalog has also been upgraded and submitted to Apple and is pending approval. Version 1.1 has several improvements:

• Addition of a volume slider especially for iPod touch users. Since most our staff are iPhone users, we overlooked the fact that the iPod touch has no volume controls other than what the app puts on the screen. (Sorry!) This oversight has been corrected.
• Zooming support. The map can now be zoomed in and out either by pinching or double tap/two finger double tap, just like the built in maps.
• Better resume support. Several bugs were fixed so that the app now does a far better job of remembering where tracks were if playback is paused for any reason.

Now that 1.1 is out the door, we are beginning to plan for the next release. We would love to hear any feedback or suggestions that people might have.

walki-talki.com is proud to announce that its self guided mp3 audio walking tour of Berlin is now available as an app for the iPhone and iPod Touch (OS 3.0 or higher required) through The App Store.

Checkpoint Charlie on the iPhone walking tour App of Berlin

This wonderful walking tour of Berlin introduces you to the key historical sites of Berlin, from the origins of the city, to the remarkable history of culture, suppression, repression and rebirth recounted in sites like the Bundestag/Reichstag, the Brandenburg Gate, Checkpoint Charlie and Gendermenmarkt. Best of all, with this new app package for the iPhone and iPod Touch (OS 3.0 or higher required) there is no hassle of printing a paper map to take along. (That option is, of course, always available.) Our self-contained app has an interactive map that shows you the path to follow, to skip tracks if you so desire, and to see a picture of the landmark at each site so that you can be certain of your whereabouts. All of this is on your device with no need to connect to any network for information.

This app is pure walking bliss, and our Berlin tour happens to be the longest tour that we offer in terms of time. You walk a great distance to visit a great many sites and to learn history unrivaled in its complexity and importance. It is a lot to take in, and you can do it all now from the comfort of your iPhone or iPod Touch, at your own leisurely pace. Take two hours to do the tour, or take six hours. Just make sure your battery doesn’t run out.

The Walki-Talki.com self guided mp3 audio walking tour of Paris’ Montmartre neighborhood is now available as an iPhone app

I’m happy to announce that our Paris: Montmartre tour is now available on the App Store. Just like the London tour, the map is included in the app so that you don’t need to print a map or even have a network connection to walk this walk.

We are hard at work preparing even more walks for the iPhone, so stay tuned for the next release!

The walki-talki.com self guided mp3 audio walking tour of London is now available as an iPhone app

I’m happy to report that our London tour is now available as an iPhone app. The app version of the tour features a dynamic map, so no more printing maps! In fact, locals just might ask you, the tourist, for directions.

We designed the app with a self contained map. Therefore no network connection is needed while you are walking, so there won’t be any unpleasant surprises when you come home and get your phone bill.

London is available now in the App Store. Our other destinations will be available in the App Store soon. We are very excited about the possibilities that the iPhone opens for our tours. Stay tuned for more updates …

I am happy to report that our site has been successfully migrated to a new server. All remaining bugs have been zapped, and normal sales have resumed. Therefore, you can shop walki-talki.com with confidence. And, don’t forget that we have made a total commitment to our customers. If you encounter any problems at all, use our contact form or click on the “skype me” button on the bottom of every page on our store to contact us. All questions will be answered, and all problems will be resolved. 

Thank you for visiting walki-talki.com.

This week Walki-Talki unveils its latest audio tour, a self-guided walk through the Swiss paradise of Geneva.  The city is a living postcard full of history and one of the most diverse in Europe.   The city is home to the United Nations. the International Red Cross and many other international bodies – a history of tolerance that dates back to the 17^thcentury when Geneva was a refuge for persecuted Protestants from throughout Europe.

This comprehensive tour encompasses fourteen major sites and follows the Geneva waterfront into the heart the Old Town.  Along the way, you’ll learn how the teachings of John Calvin and John Knox led to Geneva becoming known as the “Protestant Rome”;  find out how the city was once saved by a flying tea kettle; and learn just how the Swiss knife got to be so darn useful.  The tour is capped off with a visit to Geneva’s oldest Cathedral, and it ends in Geneva’s most beautiful park.  This tour is a beautiful walk with plenty of history, characters and interesting facts to keep you entertained from start to finish.

So head for the crossroads of Europe and head to Geneva, Pearl of Switzerland. You have a fabulous guided tour to get you started.

At long last, we are proud to announce the release of the walki-talki.com self-guided, mp3 audio walking tour of historic Prague. This is one of best preserved medieval cities in Europe. It has survived the ravages of history and emerged as one of Europe’s premiere destinations and, indeed, one of her crowning jewels.

From Jan Hus to Dubcek and Havel, from Rabbi Pinkus to Kafka, and from wine to pilsner, Prague has it all. Neither Nazis nor communists managed to subdue this vibrant cultural capital, and just about any time of the year is the perfect time to visit Prague.The walki-talki.com tour will take you step by step through all of Prague’s major historical periods. You will encounter famous writers, musicians, composers, writers and astronomers. Seventeen breathtaking stops are guaranteed to make you fall in love with this most romantic of cities. So, pack your bags, get your walking shoes ready, and head to Prague. 

Payam 

Walki-talki.com is proud to announce the release of our self-guided mp3 audio walking tour of historic Munich. See the city that was once the center of the European salt trade and the capital of the Holy Roman Empire. This is the city that took beer to new heights and gave us names like Diesel, Mann and BMW.

Jed Payne has written a beautiful introduction to this European–indeed, world–capital. Your guides Ben Silburn and Francesca bring this wonderful narrative to life in 15 splendid tracks that will guide you from Karlsplatz to Hofgarten. See where kings dwelled and drank beer. Take some time and drink! There is no better place to drink a refreshing wheat beer (or weizenbier, if you prefer).

So, load up your iPhone, iPod, or other mp3 player of choice, print the map, and get to learn the city made famous by monks: Munich.