"In sharp contrast to many iPhone travel apps, the Willamette Valley ($4.99) travel guide doesn't rely on scraping data from various websites that anyone with minor search engine skills could easily access online. Every photo, tour map and written review were created and poured over by Jackson himself. Offering up well thought out insights into the Willamette wine region."

"It's much like having a personal concierge in the palm of your hand."

Read The entire review at - iPhonesavior.com

 

Press Release Yakima Valley - Red Mountain

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Apple’s iPhone has shaken up the cell phone world with their catchy phrase “There’s an app for that”. However, when it comes to travel apps only major metropolitan  areas could be found on the app store. Smaller, but well traveled  food and wine destinations such as the Yakima Valley and Red Mountain were missing.

Seattle based mobile travel guide company, AOC Travel Guides, filled the gap for visitors with an interest in wine, food, and culture with its recent release of the Yakima Valley-Red Mountain  app ($4.99).  The mobile travel guide gives users a road map for  four perfect days in the Yakima Valley visiting small, under-the-radar wineries, restaurants, and local cultural attractions. Co-founder and owner Dana Jackson states “We don’t accept advertising and freebies to ensure objectivity when we write about a place and we don’t shy away from calling out overrated, usual suspects, and tourist traps. “

Through consumer research AOC Travel Guide found that travelers want an honest opinion about a place without spending hours researching and preparing before going on a weekend trip to the wine country. “We found that  weekend travelers want insider tips to make the best of their leisure time without going through endless business listings”.  The app’s  features make it easy for travelers with its navigational wheel, maps, kid compatible activities and reviews of more than 30 restaurants and wineries as well as an overview of historic and or cultural sites that can be visited.

 Asked why AOC Travel Guides has selected the iPhone instead of other smart phone devices Jackson says “Apple’s style and market base is compatible with our company’s culture and market. Apple is an innovator anticipating future trends.”  Jackson also pointed out that according to a recent comScore (A leader in measuring the digital world) study,  touch-screen mobile phone adaption in the U.S. showed a “significant 159% growth rate during the past year to 23.8 million users in August 2009” and Apple has 33% percent market share. He doesn’t eliminate the possibility of future development for other smart phones but thought Apple was the right fit for his company at the current time. 

Asked how he would judge success,  Jackson said that receiving a five star rating from customers on the Apple iTunes store certainly constitutes success. Also,” the constant customer feedback loop helps us stay innovative”.  We learned that customers want videos. So our future releases  will contain video interviews  with winemakers or other interesting characters we meet  during our travels. Willamette  Valley was  released in October  2009, Napa Valley and Sonoma County  are coming online in February of 2010.