Enhanced set of Hotel Services now available over Mobile Devices
24th September, 2008, Salo, Finland and Amsterdam, The Netherlands: GeoSentric Oyj’s (NASDAQ OMX: GEO1V) GyPSii, the market-leading mobile digital lifestyle application and geo-mobility social networking platform, today announced an agreement with one of China's leading web-based travel companies eLong, Inc. (
www.elong.com and
www.elong.net), to provide GyPSii-powered hotel information and reservation services to visitors to China, including such popular cities as Beijing and Shanghai.
GyPSii users will have access from their mobile phone to eLong’s large selection of hotel content, allowing them to search for nearby hotels, review comments, pictures and contact information, and to contact eLong to make a reservation – all via GyPSii’s unique mobile lifestyle application. The deal is the first of its kind with a major on-line travel provider in China.
People visiting China will find it very easy to search for hotels and make a reservation using GyPSii’s unique functionality. Subscribers will be able to access almost 7,000 eLong partner hotels in China view a detailed map and directions to their chosen location in just one click, making it easy for visitors to select and review the hotel of their choice while on the move.
Commenting on the deal, Shane Lennon, SVP of Marketing at GyPSii said, “The 2008 Olympic Games has helped China promote the country as a great tourist attraction and visitors will need a convenient way of searching for and finding hotels that come highly recommended by others. With content from eLong integrated into the platform, GyPSii will empower users to find a hotel quickly and easily, while sharing their Chinese experiences with friends and family using GyPSii’s unique location-aware technology.”
Under the agreement, eLong will pay GyPSii a referral fee for hotel customers using the GyPSii platform. This deal will cover hotels in almost 400 cities across China, and is part of GyPSii “whole product strategy” to include 3rd party premium content for GyPSii members and additional revenue streams for GyPSii.
“This deal plays to our strategy of integrating best-of-breed third party content into GyPSii en route to mass market adoption,” continued Lennon. “We look forward to working with eLong to give people a fun and memorable Chinese experience with GyPSii.”
GyPSii has an agreement with mobile operator China Unicom to provide the service to its subscribers during and after the recent Olympic Games. It has partnered with Nav2, a Chinese provider of world class digital maps, so GyPSii users in China can access a diverse range of premium third party content and services at the touch of a button. Last month GyPSii announced a deal with MyNet, service provider to China Mobile.
GyPSii currently interoperates on Symbian, Windows Mobile, and BlackBerry devices, as well as the Apple iPhone, along with browser-based Internet connected devices. It can be accessed on the web at
www.gypsii.com or a compatible phone’s mobile browser at:
www.gypsii.com/m.