Social networking site WAYN.com is hoping to expand its range of services available on mobile phones.
The company plans to open up its most popular functions on the site to users’ mobile phones and other portable devices.
WAYN currently enables users to download a speaking translation facility to their mobile phones for a fee but wants to enable users to access their mail and travel guides and update their profiles.
Director of sales, marketing and communication Annika Erskine said: “We want WAYN to be available in a number of different ways and outside the main times when people use the internet. We want to give them access in their pockets.”
The company is also looking at making travel itineraries available on mobile phones and flight status alerts.
Other speakers at the mobile travel session at World Travel Market said bookings on mobile phones were beginning to happen and that the medium was also being used to reduce operating costs.
Mobile Travel Technologies executive director Gerry Samuels said: “There are bookings being made in the developing markets where people don’t have residential broadband access.”
Samuels added that the technology would also be more widely used to cut queues at airports. IATA has just approved a 2D bar-code to be sent to travellers’ mobile phones to speed-up check in.
Meanwhile, Handy Group is developing a mobile transactional service for accommodation specialist hotels4u.com.
Chief executive Michael Lacy said: “Mobile still has a long way to go and it is a fairly complex area but the potential rewards are phenomenal.”
Lacy added that mobile phone penetration was now the same as television.
by Linda Fox
