PDD unveils Plan-b
One of the coolest products we’ve seen in some time debuted in a small corner of the 3GSM show in Cannes the other week. Plan-b is a prototype device manufactured by British design company PDD.
The PDA-sized device works using Wi-Fi and GPS to continually keep the traveller abreast of their itinerary constantly updating their travel information as they go. At each Wi-Fi hot spot the device automatically accesses the traveller’s dedicated website to discover the latest travel information. If, for example, a flight has been delayed, Plan-b will not only relay that information but also prompt the owner to address other parts of their itinerary the changes may have impacted on such as hotel bookings.
Even more impressively it automatically downloads local tourist information of each place it reaches and provides real-time navigation information, such as the ability to point its integrated camera at a building and use GPS to name it. Plan-b’s owners can also use the device to translate street signs and place names into other languages.
As we said it is only a prototype, but we’d love to see a real world version, perhaps a little smaller than the original version, in the next year or so. More from here
