RIM introduced, BlackBerry Travel, a new native travel application for its BlackBerry handsets. The BlackBerry Travel application will compete with other travel applications like WorldMate which has a similar feature set, but is not integrated into BlackBerry OS 6. The native Travel application from RIM has a full set of features for mobile jet-setters including:
- Itinerary Management: The Travel application automatically imports itineraries and booking confirmations from your inbox into the travel application and the BlackBerry travel portal. The application will monitor your itinerary and sends you alerts about travel discrepancies (two flights that overlap) or important changes to your flight or hotel information
- Flight Search and Hotel Booking: BlackBerry Travel also lets you search for new flights or book a hotel directly from your BlackBerry handset. The directory includes over 110,000 hotels worldwide that are derived from Expedia. Search is context-aware so you can easily filter search results based on location and hotel/flight preferences.
- Travel Tools: Finally, the Travel application is social and location-aware so you can easily locate places, events and people in your surroundings using Yelp. The app features a local search tool to help you find local businesses and events. It also hooks in to your LinkedIn account so you can find friends and colleagues that are traveling with you.
The BlackBerry Travel application will be integrated into OS 6.0 and is available from the App World for any device running OS version 5.0 or later. Check out RIM’s website for additional information on this application.
[Via RIM’s BlackBerry blog]