This week was all about city guides and tours using the location services developed by Skyhook Wireless.  We have previously see the “At A Glance” city guides from BeeLoop SL, but there was quite a surge this past week from the developer as there are now over 20 cities in Europe and the United States that can be discovered with this application. While the “At a Glance” guides focus primarily on points of interest throughout the city, the city guides from Dubbele.com are street level maps that let you find important places such as ATM machines, parking, restrooms, etc. and include high interest points such as museums and historic places.  There are over 100 of these apps developed for cities all over the world such as Los Angeles, Melbourne and Warsaw.

Another interesting trend this week was the introduction of applications that service information regarding the recent Swine Flu Pandemic.  There were plenty of games designed around the scare or applications describing preventative actions, but both Swine Flu Tracker and Swine Flu Tracker Map use current location to show where the reported cases are in relation to the user.

Finally, the ultimate wedding application has been designed for those getting married and trying to organize the event without the help of a wedding planner.  WeddingWire uses geo-location to research and locate 20 different categories, from everything from the cake to the band to the venue, to help a bride design the wedding of her dreams.  The app features comparisons of local wedding professionals, read reviews of past clients, and call vendors directly from your iPhone.

By Courtney Teeling