WorldMate Wins Best Mobile App at EyeForTravel!

 

Last night, WorldMate won the prestigious EyeForTravel Best Mobile App award among a group of impressive startups including Gogobot, Hipmunk, Jetsetter, and HotelTonight. Our congratulations to all of the runners up.

The contenders were whittled down to 4 finalists, and each of us gave a 5 minute presentation in front of a panel of judges. One of the judges had the role of being the "Simon Cowell" asking tough questions and spitting out harsh comments. We presented last, and all that judge could say was "You knocked my socks off". That was it — no questions, no criticisms. Apparently we won in a route.

With this EyeForTravel award, WorldMate has now won Best App awards at a prestigious consumer travel event to go alongside our Best App awards in business travel (GBTA) and mobile (GSMA, Meffys). These successes are testament to the incredible skill and tireless energy of our team and to our users who provide invaluable feedback— both good and bad— that we take to heart and use as inspiration to keep driving the mobile travel industry forward.

Thank you for all of your support.

Social integration & price alerts

 

We admit it. Registering and logging into an app with an email address and password is a pain. The good news is that we’ve just integrated WorldMate 2.5 for iPhone with Facebook, so that you can now register and log-in to WorldMate with your Facebook credentials. It’s fast, easy, and no more “what was my password for this app?” again!

In keeping with the social theme, it’s now even easier to post your trip updates on Facebook. For those of you with iPhone OS5, you can tweet your travel adventures from WorldMate as your trip unfolds.

One last thing- Do you ever wonder if the hotel room you booked is really a good deal? With our new Price Alert service, we’ll put your mind at ease by notifying you if there’s a better price for that hotel room, a comparable hotel for a cheaper price, or if there’s a much better hotel for slightly more. In many cases, you can cancel your original booking without penalty and then re-book the better deal through us.

 

Traveling keeps getting better and easier

WorldMate has done it again, making traveling better and easier. With new and improved travel services making travel easier and more enjoyable, we not only have the Android Market’s “Editors Choice” award, but we’re also an Android Market “Staff Picks”.

So, what’s new in 5.0?

Price Alerts: Did you get the best hotel deal? WorldMate now automatically helps you save with our Price Alerts service. No matter where you book from, we’ll let you know if you can get more for less. Save money on the same hotel, find a similar but cheaper, or upgrade to bigger and better for next to nothing!

Hotel Booking Revamped: We’ve upgraded our hotel booking service giving our users an incredible booking experience. You’ll enjoy our new user interface, which makes finding the perfect hotel a cinch. And for those of you bargain hunters, you can now get straight to the chase with our Deals button.

Express Booking: Do you hate the tedious process of entering your credit card details each time you book? Well, we now give you the option of storing those details with us, so that it's a snap the next time you book on WorldMate.

Log in with Facebook: Loosing track of your Web or App accounts and passwords? Well you now have one less password to remember; just Log in with your Facebook credentials.

Facebook Status Updates: If you’re planning a trip or on route and running up those miles, update your Facebook friends directly from WorldMate. Keep your friends updated on your travel adventures by posting new travel status messages directly from your Trip’s screen.

Calling All Android Users: You’ve Been Upgraded

Back in July, we launched the WorldMate for Android “Gold” premium services , and it has become one of the handful of apps to win the coveted “Editors Choice” designation from Android Market! Still, our team has been working overtime on major enhancements to the next iteration of WorldMate for Android—Version 4.0. We’re thrilled to announce its availability as of today! So, what’s new in 4.0?

Calendar Synchronization for Outlook, and Google/Android Calendar: Demand for this has been overwhelming—so here it is! Setup takes a minute or two and then all your flights/hotel/car rental reservations in WorldMate will automatically sync to your calendar.

Car Rentals: Renting a car by walking up to the rental counter at the airport is so 2010! With 4.0, you can reserve a car at hundreds of airports around the globe. Select from multiple car rental agencies including, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Thrifty, and many more.

Limousine Reservations: Guess what? Limos aren’t just for celebrities or going to the Prom. The next time you’re thinking about that $85 taxi from the airport into New York City, check WorldMate for a much more comfortable town car at comparable prices. With our partner, GroundLink, we’re providing limo reservations to/from airports all over the world. Reservations are made with a simple click to call or, if you just don’t like talking to people much, you can reserve directly within the app. Try it on your next trip and be one of “those people” who have a driver waiting for them at baggage claim.

Improved Graphics: We’ve redesigned the main screen to accommodate the ever-growing number of services with in the app. You will also notice the enhanced mapping functionality- WorldMate now displays a uniquely labeled pinpoint for the airport, hotel, and meetings in your itinerary.

Advertisements: My father always told me, “There’s no such thing as a free lunch.” WorldMate is closing in on 9 million registered users, many of whom are free users. Until now, we’ve been ad-free, only serving promotions for our hotel booking service or to our travel insurance/limousine booking partners, etc. With 4.0, we’re introducing 3rd party banner advertising to generate a little cash to pay for everything the millions of free users enjoy today (and to keep our investors and accountants happy!). We hope that its not too intrusive and that maybe you’ll even click one or two of them. Of course, if you upgrade to the Gold version, those ads will magically disappear.

Re-Introducing WorldMate for iPhone

We're very excited to announce that WorldMate for iPhone 2.0 is now available on the iPhone App Store. We've redesigned the app from the ground up and added all the latest iOS features to make organizing your travel plans an even better experience.

Included in this version

New design:
You'll love the beautiful new design of WorldMate 2.0 for iPhone; based on feedback from thousands of WorldMate users we've made everything nicer and easier to find.

A more complete itinerary:
We have added support for more details about your reservations, so each item in your itinerary now contains more details from your original flight/hotel/car reservation email.

Latest iOS updates:
WorldMate for iPhone now supports multi-tasking, fast app switching, Retina display and you can even open the app directly from a WorldMate import email.

WorldMate Gold has come to Android

Road warriors; your life just got much simpler.

WorldMate 3.0 for Android is out and with it comes WorldMate Gold, the premium service from WorldMate relied upon by hundreds of thousands of business travelers from around the world.

With WorldMate Gold you'll get:

Real-time flight alerts
Get instantly updated on flight delays, cancellations or gate changes with pushed alerts directly to your Android.
Flight status updates in your itinerary
Never miss an update your itinerary will be  auto updated with the real-time status of your flights or gate changes.
Flight status look-up
Check real-time flight status for over 350 airlines and instantly lookup information about flight delays, cancellations and gate changes.
Peace of mind for your next trip
Get all the convenience of flight alerts, status and lookup. Going Gold means you’ll always be one step ahead of everyone else when something goes wrong.

WorldMate Gold is available via in-app upgrade with Google checkout for just $9.90.

Get WorldMate 3.0 at the Android Market.

We have also included in this release pushed notifications for all itinerary updates, so any time you send us a travel confirmation email or edits your itinerary at worldmate.com you will get a pushed Android notification confirming that yourtravel items (flight, car, hotel, etc.) were successfully imported. This service is free for all users.

Road Warrior? Go Gold:

Get Real-Time Flight Alerts

Get instantly updated on flight delays, cancellations or gate changes with pushed alerts directly to your Android.

 

Road Warrior? Go Gold:

See flight status updates in your itinerary

Never miss an update your itinerary will be  auto updated with the real-time status of your flights or gate changes.

 

Road Warrior? Go Gold:

Check any flight’s status

Check real-time flight status for over 350 airlines and instantly lookup information about flight delays, cancellations and gate changes.

 

Road Warrior? Go Gold:

Have peace of mind for your next trip

Get all the convenience of flight alerts, status and lookup. Going Gold means you’ll always be one step ahead of everyone else when something goes wrong.

Big changes for our BlackBerry users – new look, new features, new price (free), new name – BlackBerry® Travel™

Exciting news for our long-time and loyal BlackBerry® users, as well as all travelers that carry a BlackBerry – today, in a joint effort with Research in Motion (RIM), we bring the Gold Service to the new BlackBerry® Travel™ Super App. This collaboration lets us take the best travel app for BlackBerry® and add a great new look, as well as a bunch of powerful new features. And the best news, all BlackBerry® smartphone customers can get it right now, and it’s a free app! Where do you find BlackBerry Travel? Just go to the Test Center category on BlackBerry App World™ and download BlackBerry® Travel™, and you have a new, even more powerful travel app at your fingertips. (for now Blackberry Travel is availible in the USA, Canada, the UK and Spain. More countries coming soon).

Here are the features you know and love, as well as the new ones you’ll find in BlackBerry® Travel™:

• Automatic Trip Scanning – As soon as your itinerary hits your inbox it is automatically and seamlessly loaded into the app
• All-In-One Service – No need to browse websites or other apps, everything is right at your fingertips from planning, booking, and alerts to integration with LinkedIn® and Yelp®
• Search and Book Hotels – Simply search for hotels in the area you plan to stay and book the one that suits your needs and budget
• Travel Notifications – No need to look up flight status, the information will push as it is available; you will know immediately if there are flight delays or cancellations
• Alternative Flights – Flight cancelled or delayed? Search for flights from any airport worldwide to find a new flight quickly and easily
• Easy Sharing – Share your travel details with friends, family or colleagues on LinkedIn from within the app. Update your status or search for people who may be in town at the same time as you
• Know Your Destination – Easy to use currency converter, weather forecasts, and any information you may need about every leg of your journey

WorldMate continues to expand its technology and deep travel and mobile expertise to better serve the traveler and our collaboration with RIM allows us to bring the convenience of mobile travel services to the world. BlackBerry® Travel™ represents the most sophisticated end user experience in functionality, automation and polish, making it easier than ever to manage all aspects of your travel from your smartphone. Let's make this the kick-start for the next era of travel.

BlackBerry® Travel– WorldMate and BlackBerry join forces to help you travel with confidence

Get WorldMate Gold for iPhone with an unbeatable Holiday special

WorldMate is ushering in the holiday season with a special offer for iPhone users; become a subscribed Gold Member and be eligible to all the unique Gold features available for just $0.99!

Flying to visit family over this holiday season? Why worry about flight delays? WorldMate Gold will give you real time alerts notifying you of any delays, and all the flight information needed. Get the latest up to date real-time news about your flight and travel plans! With Gold features you will receive pushed flight alerts, real-time flight alerts, automated flight updates, and priority customer support!

Make sure you take advantage of this special holiday offer to get the best mobile travel assistant at unbeatable price!

WorldMate Now Pilots Your Travel Itinerary on Android

Today WorldMate is now available for all Android users! Following tens of thousands of user requests, we wanted to give the best to our loyal travelers and extend our service to the Android platform. More importantly, we are bringing an unprecedented level of usability and polish to Android, focusing on keeping you up-to-date with rich travel alerts and notifications.

WorldMate strives to keep your travel organized and provide our users with the best services possible - being on the BlackBerry, iPhone, Symbian and now Android allows us to personally assist many more travelers around the world.

On the new Android app travelers can:
- Receive travel alerts for flights, meetings and more
- View full itinerary
- Link to flight status via Flightstats.com
- Link to Google Maps
- Smart Hotel Search and booking through Hotels.com
- Flight reminder notifications
- Currency, Weather and more!

You can find WorldMate in the Android Marketplace and read more here: www.worldmate.com/android