TripAdvisor Adds "Live View" Using Augmented Reality to Apps for the iPad 2 and iPhone

Giving Live View a test drive outside the TripAdvisor HQ on an iPhone.

We wanted to share some more exciting news on the mobile front with you this morning. Today, TripAdvisor launched a new “Live View” feature for its app for the iPad 2 and iPhone, which is available now in the App Store. The new augmented reality functionality allows travelers to view TripAdvisor’s more than 45 million traveler reviews and opinions of hotels, restaurants and attractions superimposed over what they see through the camera of their mobile device.

As Mike Putnam, director of mobile product at TripAdvisor, notes, “With the launch of the new Live View feature for the TripAdvisor App, travelers can simply point their iPad 2 or iPhone at establishments to easily access TripAdvisor’s wealth of trusted reviews and opinions on hotels, restaurants and attractions with augmented reality in real-time while they’re out and about in their travel destination.”

In addition to Live View, we’ve added our Virtual Tours feature to the TripAdvisor App for the iPhone and iPod touch. The functionality allows travelers to take a virtual walk through their travel destination with TripAdvisor reviews and opinions superimposed over Street View from Google.

The TripAdvisor App also has a wealth of other helpful travel planning features, including:

- TripAdvisor’s more than 45 million reviews and opinions for hotels, restaurants and attractions. Travelers can even add their own reviews while their experiences are fresh.

- “Near Me Now” functionality, so travelers can determine what hotels, restaurants and attractions are nearby.

- Unique map-based browsing on the iPad, giving travelers the lay of the land in their travel destination.

- The ability to find cheap flights using the award-winning TripAdvisor Flights search engine, and compare airline fees using its Fees Estimator.

- Access to the TripAdvisor forums, where users can ask questions of their fellow travelers and receive helpful feedback.

- Traveler photos of hotels, restaurants, attractions and destinations.

The TripAdvisor App is available for free from the App Store on the iPad, iPhone or iPod touch or at www.itunes.com/appstore. More information about TripAdvisor’s mobile offerings can be found at www.tripadvisor.com/mobile.

Live View on the TripAdvisor App using an iPad 2.