Find and book last-minute vacation trips by mobile phone

Find and book last-minute vacation trips by mobile phone Together with students from the University of Karlskrona/Ronneby, Aspiro and Hewlett-Packard have co-developed a new and practical travel service for mobile phones. The new service lets consumers book customized last- minute vacations directly from a mobile phone or wireless device. The concept gives rise to a new kind of product series, a platform for mobile services based on WAP, SMS and E-speak. To use the travel service, the end user first creates a personal profile with information about where and when he or she wishes to travel and at what price he or she is prepared to pay. Based on this information any trips matching the criteria are automatically forwarded and presented in the user's mobile phone the moment they hit the market. The user can then either reject the offer or book the trip immediately. "The benefits to the consumer are enormous - no more telephone queues, no more searching in newspapers or scanning brochures for the perfect vacation. All you need to do is create a personal profile and all matching offers will automatically be presented in your mobile phone via a SMS message," says Caroline Cornelius, Aspiro's project manager. This new type of service will be a part of Aspiro's portfolio of applications and services sold to mobile telecom operators and portals. The one feature common to all these services is the booking function - plane tickets, theatre tickets, tables at selected restaurants, etc - based on a personal profile that allows suitable offers to be presented automatically in a mobile phone or wireless device. The travel service will be demonstrated live at the pressroom of rd Sollentunamässan in Stockholm on the 23 of May at 1.00 pm. It will also be shown at Aspiro's and HP's stands during Telekomdagarna 2000, the telecoms industry conference and trade fair being held at Sollentunamässan in Stockholm, May 23 - 35. For more information, please contact: Caroline Cornelius, project manager, Aspiro, tel: +46 709 91 80 59 Hans Wester, sales developer, mobile e-services, HP Sweden, tel: +46 70 666 28 46 About Aspiro Aspiro provides mobile applications and services promoting Life in Motion using cutting-edge knowledge and technologies. Aspiro offers operators, content providers and mobile organizations a wide range of solutions, from pre-packaged portal services to industry-specific solutions. Founded in 1998, Aspiro is today a world leader within Mobile Internet. The Scandinavia-based company has over 100 employees and offices in Sweden, Norway, Luxembourg and USA. Aspiro's business concept, organization and operations are based on many years of experience gained in the mobile telecommunications and IT industries. For further information about Aspiro, please visit www.aspiro.com. About HP Hewlett-Packard Company - a leading global provider of computing and imaging solutions and services for business and home - is focused on capitalizing on the opportunities of the Internet and the proliferation of electronic services. HP plans to launch Agilent Technologies as an independent company by mid- calendar 2000. Agilent consists of HP's test and measurement, semiconductor products, chemical analysis and healthcare solutions businesses, and has leading positions in multiple market segments. HP has 83,200 employees worldwide and had total revenue from current operations of $42.4 billion in its 1999 fiscal year. Information about HP and its products can be found at www.hp.com. ------------------------------------------------------------ Please visit http://www.bit.se for further information The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2000/05/23/20000523BIT00130/bit0001.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2000/05/23/20000523BIT00130/bit0002.pdf