There is never a dull moment in the travel and mobile areas. Nokia and Lonely Planet have just announced a joint venture for travelers to get Lonely Planet travel guide content on their Nokia phones. Each guide cost $13.99, almost the same price as a traditional guide book, but it can be used with Nokia’s maps.

This is really a great development in the travel content area. If Lonely Planet can convince people to pay $13.99 for their recommendations, just imagine how many people will want Geogad’s free travel guides.

Special treat today.  I attended a lecture given by Michael Kohn, who has been a journalist in Mongolia, researched Lonely Planet guidebooks in Central Asia and across the world and has just released his latest book, Dateline Mongolia. The lecture was given in a packed auditorium at the Santa Clara Library.  Judging by his schedule, Michael is focusing on talking at libraries, which is better for the audience.  Many bookstores have their authors lecture in crowded stores with customers milling about as the talk proceeds.  Convenient for the store, but distracting for the author and audience.

Michael used both a slideshow presentation and background music to add to the feel of the talk.  He is an expert on travel and Central Asia, especially Mongolia.  You can tell that he is passionate about his subject, but his talks will improve if he shows a bit more of this passion as he goes through his presentation.

His book, Dateline Mongolia, seems like a must-read for anyone thinking of traveling in this area.  The best way to get the book is directly from his website so that he can autograph it for you.

Even though you may not be able to attend his talks, you can still get a small taste of them by checking out his excellent travel photos in his gallery.  They can really get your feet aching to get off the beaten path.

 Technorati tags: travel, lecture, Michael Kohn, Dateline Mongolia, Mongolia, Central Asia, Lonely Planet, travel guides 

Just got done reading the Lonely Planet Blue List. Actually, it really does not need reading, just scanning. The book is a collaborative effort. The front portion of the book lists the 10 best of a variety of different topics. (Although they are not called the 10 best since some other travel company has already trademarked that. Also this way they can slip in a few more or a few less without breaking the flow of the book.) This section was the most interesting and was far too short. The 10 best were selected by actual travelers and posted, voted on and discussed on the Lonely Planet web site. Their choices are very timely and cover the globe. You are sure to find a new place to explore, no matter how well traveled you are.

The second part of the book was a bit confusing. It consists of 3 pages that form a brief thumbnail of the countries in the world. But all of the countries did not qualify for 3 whole pages. Some only warranted a paragraph. Ok, I can understand that Lonely Planet is pressed for space and wants to keep the book small enough to fit in a backpack. What confuses me is how France and England qualified for 3 pages of info and Germany only got a single paragraph. You should have seen me looking for Germany and not able to find it. Sometimes I have trouble finding England in guidebooks because I don’t know whether to search for “England”, Great Britain”, or something else. But Germany has always been Germany. There was that period in which there was East and West Germany, but generally you can’t go wrong looking for Germany.

For the next edition of the Blue List, fans of Germany ( and the German Tourist Board) should get together a guerrilla campaign to get Germany its rightful 3 pages.

Lonely Planet Blue Book Germany France England 10 best