Chicago Tribune, August 2005

Will MP3 players replace the tour guide with the red umbrella?

MP3 players and Apple iPods, those electronic darlings that are transforming the way we listen to music, are finding some travel-related uses beyond merely giving airplane passengers a personalized concert at 500 m.p.h. The gadgets have given rise to the podcast, a sort of news and information show starring whoever has the time and desire to use this alternative media for the spoken word.

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Now this new medium has attracted a small but growing number of entrepreneurs who make spoken travel guides and tours available for download.

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Audible (www.audible.com), a Web site that specializes in spoken content, has more than 70,000 hours of audio programs from more than 200 content partners, including more than 50 travel guides and walking tour programs.

"It is one of those genres that make perfect sense for the proliferation of the devices," said David Joseph, a spokesman for Audible. Among the selections: London literary tours and guides to the Grand Canyon, various New York neighborhoods and major tourist destinations in Italy.

Aiming to replace the traditional tour experience of following the tour guide with the red umbrella, audio walking tours allow travelers to have an expert guide downloaded to their iPod or MP3 player. Audio tours run about 30 to 90 minutes and cost up to $15. A printed map usually comes with it, and you can preview samples to see whether they fit your style.

They are not for every traveler. You can't, for example, raise your hand and direct your question to the guide with the red umbrella, and if you have a travel companion, each of you must have your own iPod or share a set of earphones, which is difficult if you don't move at the same pace.

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For travelers to Europe, there are a number of options. If in London, you may want to try one of the two free Antenna Audio Tours of Historic Gardens (available at www.audible.com) which take visitors to some of the city's hidden gardens and garden museums. The tours relate "intriguing tales of how our everyday household plants arrived in Britain." The tours include stops at Kensington Gardens, the Chelsea Physic Garden, the Museum of Garden History, and the Bramah Museum of Tea and Coffee.

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For the full article, please visit:

www.chicagotribune.com/travel/chi-0508200181aug21,1,7861694.story?col>%20l=chi-travel-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true

By James Gilden

Special to the Tribune

Published August 21, 2005

About Antenna Audio

For 20 years Antenna Audio has been the leader in the field of digital audio and multimedia interpretation, providing the highest quality programming, equipment solutions and service, with the goal of creating an emotionally and intellectually engaging experience for visitors to museums, historic sites, and attractions. Over 70 million people worldwide have experienced an Antenna Audio tour at more than 800 sites, such as The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Gallery, London, the Louvre, Edinburgh Castle, the Alcatraz Cellhouse, and Elvis Presley's Graceland.

For further details please contact:
Sarah Dines
Antenna Audio
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