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Normal POIs in GPSs can do only so much, such as letting you know when you come near a place that many find interesting.  This new Sat Nav software takes basic POIs to the next level.  This software will provide audio whenever you travel near a historically famous place in France, and will last about two minutes. 

Developed by RoadTour, the software will work with most GPSs, such as GPSs by Garmin.  For 19.95 pounds, or only about $27, you can get a concise historical background on nearly 620 French attractions.  Many European countries are rich with culture, so a tourist will definitely benefit from something like this.  RoadTour spent over 3 years developing accurate historical information for every piece of audio they have. 

RoadTour worked with ZeVisit, a leading French tourist agency, who helped with famous attractions.  Yann Le Fichant, CEO of ZeVisit, had this to say about their product:

“At ZeVisit, we strongly believe that audio is the only media that can make you feel strong emotions. What better than making every journey an emotional journey full of stories and imagination as well?”

In addition, Daniel Taylor, RoadTour’s leading inventor, had this to say about their product and ZeVisit:

RoadTour’s inventor, Daniel Taylor found that driving the roads of Europe could be a highly frustrating experience; “Sat Navs are great in getting us from A to B but hopeless at connecting us with the rich heritage of Europe.  There are times driving France’s clear motorways, when you might as well be driving through England for all you’re finding out. Our goal with our French partner, Zevisit, is to bring France’s fascinating history, beautiful environment and rich culture to the millions of people who sometimes just drive straight to Provence, barely stopping for fuel on the way.”

Every time the GPS voice starts speaking about a historical place, you can expect to hear about and see pictures of towns, castles, battlefields, and related attractions.  Additionally, the audio will play automatically, so the driver or passenger will not have to do anything if they wanted to hear about a historical place.  In case you were worrying about the historical audio being distracting when you’re trying to get around France, well you will be happy to know that directional audio will be played over historical audio.

Lastly, here’s an example of something you can expect to hear:

“Alsace became part of Germany in 1871, when a far reaching city planning project was set in motion. The German empire decided to move its political and administrative headquarters to the old city centre of Strasbourg, close to La Place de la Republique…this is truly several cities in one. It is a city that is Catholic, Protestant and Jewish all at once and the three architectural styles co-exist marvellously.  According to local, Roger Siffert, Strasbourg is like a very beautiful woman wearing a superb tuxedo but with tennis shoes or boots on her feet…in Alsace, they would say ‘pretty like a punch in the eye’!”

Overall, this seems to be a great product, I only hope that more GPSs will include something like this for tourists. 

Read [RoadTour] Via [Webitpr]