Schmap turns city guides into maps with a tilt of the iPhone

There certainly is no shortage of online travel sites and wikis, but there really hasn’t been an iPhone version worth talking about, until now. Schmap is a destination site all about destinations, as in travel destinations, and its new iPhone service is something to write home about. The site offers over 100 city guides for top destinations all across the globe. It also offers local search to help you find something more specific in a geographic location where Schmap may not have a travel guide available. Each city guide includes reviews and photos, historical information, tours, activities, attractions, hotels, restaurants, bars, and much more. Read on to find out why Schmap’s iPhone interface is so slick on the iPhone or iPod touch.

Schmap is not just for travelers, we use it just to find out what’s happening on our local turf. Consider Schmap a worthy replacement for Yelp, whose mobile interface leaves a lot to be desired for iPhone users. Currently, the reviews and articles in Schmap are written by professionals. They are very informative and fun to read, although user submitted reviews would go a long way in helping Schmap take users away from Yelp.

But the killer iPhone feature on Schmap is its clever use of the iPhone’s built-in accelerometer to conserve screen real estate. It works like this: navigate to a city guide in iPhone’s portrait view, then tilt your display to landscape view. The screen will automatically switch from the city guide to a map showing the location of all the items from the portrait, mapped out with contact information and directions, and all of it just a tap away. The tilt thing sounds a little gimmicky but it’s actually very handy and makes using Shmap a highly interactive and rewarding experience on the iPhone or iPod touch.

Go experience Schmap for yourself, and be sure to try Schmap on your desktop web browser when you get some time. The desktop experience is also excellent with an incredible amount of information elegantly integrated into the interface. Schmap for iPhone and the desktop web are both available at the same URL listed below.

Schmap City Guides for iPhone and iPod touch
www.schmap.com