Europe : Leeds has world’s first virtual-city guide with the launch of LeedsCast, an interactive guide which can be downloaded via Bluetooth to mobile phones.

Visitors and residents in Leeds can access useful information including restaurant and hotel details, news headlines and contact numbers for public transport and taxi firm numbers.

LeedsCast is a Location Based Service that utilises Bluetooth technology to deliver short range wireless connectivity.

Left shows The LeedsCast menu Icon screen.

It provides retainable, interactive information directly, and at no cost, to users of mobile devices such as phones and PDA’s.The information that is transmitted to mobile devices via the LeedsCast communication pod network is provided by the “Leeds. Live It. Love It.” web site.

Globally there are over 100 million mobile devices with Bluetooth capability. If you own one, then on arrival in Leeds your device will receive a message from the nearest transmitter asking if you wish to connect to the LeedsCast service.

Then the data transfer begins supplying you with a menu based system with which to navigate the LeedsCast service.

The menu icons offer a number of options that can be selected e.g. where to stay, where to eat, things to do, etc. If you select the “where to stay” option, you then receive …….A list of hotels.

If, from the list of hotels, you then, for example, select the Radisson SASHotel, you then receive…….details of the Radisson SAS Hotel including an image, the address and the phone number so that you can call and make your reservation.