Weissmann Travel Reports, Aramis Communications to Provide Travelers with Critical Information via Palm Computing Organizers
AUSTIN, Texas — June 14, 1999 — Weissmann Travel Reports(R), Austin, Tex., a division of Cahners Travel Group and the leading producer of critical destination content for the travel industry, and Aramis Communications, Northbrook, Ill., a major developer of applications for handheld devices, are now offering comprehensive guides to 55 cities around the globe.
Information covers such areas as attractions, dining, fine arts, hotels, nightlife, recreation, resources, services, shopping and transport, plus basic travel data such as language, currency and other details via a feature called "City Scan."
Weissmann City Profiles by Aramis are priced at $19.95 each and are downloadable from a standard PC with an Internet connection from several web sites, including http://www.aramis-inc.com; http://www.PilotGear.com; and a new entry, the Web site of Navigant International, one of the nation's largest travel management companies, at http://www.navigant.com. The entire process — from connecting to a site to walking out the door with the city profile loaded into a handheld organizer — takes less than five minutes and uses 100-15OKB.
"Now a business traveler looking for a trendy restaurant or a vacationer scoping out museum exhibits can do so on a shirt-pocket-sized Palm organizer," says David Bole, publisher of Weissmann Travel Reports. "These devices have become the hottest traveling companion in the marketplace," he adds, "and users can substitute volumes of guidebooks with just a tiny organizer they can hold in the palm of their hand."
The current library of Weissmann Travel Reports available to users ranges from Amsterdam to Zurich, and includes major cities in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Africa and South America. Weissmann presents facts and opinions in its reviews, and prides itself on its "concierge-style" advice that is unbiased and not commercially sponsored.
Weissmann Travel Reports was founded in 1986 by travel expert Arnie Weissmann, who assembled a global network of correspondents and editors specializing in reports that are both reliable and insightful. Knowledgeable travel agents have used Weissmann Travel Reports for years, sharing information from the volumes with their key customers.
Aramis Communications was founded in 1997 with the express mission of delivering quality travel solutions for Palm organizers. In July 1998, the company released its first products, beginning with its Int'l Traveler(TM) series, which provided users of Palm devices with information on cultural and etiquette practices in countries around the world. In October, DialerPro(TM) was introduced to provide long distance dialing and calling card access numbers for six major long distance carriers in 220 countries. In December, the first Aramis City Guides were launched, a program that has greatly expanded with the introduction of the Weissmann content.
According to David E. Horwich, president of Aramis Communications, "Our aim is to make it easy as possible for business travelers and vacationers to get around. Imagine being able to store all you need to know about a place in a six-ounce device, instead of having to pack several heavy books. All of a sudden you've lightened your load considerably."
The city guides are compatible with all Palm organizer products, including the PalmPilot(TM), the PalmPilot Professional(TM), Palm III(TM), Palm IIIx(TM), Palm V(TM) and Palm VII(TM) connected organizers.
About Cahners Travel Group
Weissmann Travel Reports is a publication of Cahners Travel Group, a company of Cahners Business Information, the largest business-to-business publisher in the U.S. and part of the Reed Elsevier plc group. Jointly owned by Reed International plc (NYSE: RUK) and Elsevier nv (NYSE: ENL), Reed Elsevier plc is a world-leading publisher and information provider with principal operations in North America and Europe. Cahners publishes 128 business magazines and provides 18 business communities with online services, custom publishing, directories, research and direct mail lists. In addition to Weissmann Travel Reports, Cahners Destination Information publishes Hotel & Travel Index(R), Hotel & Travel Index(R) International(TM), Official Hotel Guide(R), Official Meeting Facilities Guide(R) North America, Official Meeting Facilities Guide(R) International, OAG(R) Business Travel Planner(R), Cahners(R) Hotel & Travel Index(R) on Microsoft's MSN(R) Expedia(TM) and STAR SERVICE. Cahners Travel Group is located at 500 Plaza Dr., Secaucus, N.J. 07094-3626. Telephone: 201-902-2000.
About Aramis Communications
Aramis Communications is a privately held developer of mobile computing solutions headquartered in Northbrook, Ill. Its software is geared toward extending the Palm Computing platform, including the 3Com PalmPilot and Palm III connected organizers and the IBM WorkPad PC Companion. For more information, please visit the company's web site at http://www.aramis-inc.com or call 773-529-4403.
Palm Computing is a registered mark and Palm, Palm OS, PalmPilot, PalmPilot Professional, Palm III, Palm V, and Palm VII are trademarks of Palm Computing, or 3Com Corporation.
SOURCE Weissmann Travel Reports(R)
CONTACT:
David Bole, 502-320-8700, ext. 253, or Diana Orban, 973-605-2121, both for Weissmann;
or
David Horwich, 773-529-4403 or Kevin Lampe, 312-464-0260, both for Aramis;
or
Rana Cho, 650-363-0982, ext. 3914 for Palm