It also saw New York appear at number one in the iTunes top free travel apps chart, (briefly knocking Google off the top spot), Manchester appear at number eight and London at 12.
Customer feedback indicates, says Time Out, that although the initial flurry of downloads came due to the app being free, the continued strength was equally down to the buzz generated by the overwhelmingly positive response from new users in forums and blogs, this in turn had the knock on effect of a further increase in downloads. With an average of four star reviews, and incredibly positive feedback on both content and functionality, the downloads began to snowball.
David Pepper, Managing Director of Time Out Digital said: “We know that a large number of the two million people who visit the Time Out London website each month to find the best things to do in the capital, also visit five other cities per year.
We want to reach the widest audience possible with our app travel guides and we also want as much customer feedback as possible, so that we can continue to optimize the functionality and content to provide what our audience really wants. Making the apps free to download was the easiest way to do this.”
Compiled, by the same resident experts who provide Time Out’s trademark expertise for the Time Out Guide books, the apps will help users track down the best of select cities on-the-go, featuring the lowdown on the myriad of museums, attractions, restaurants, bars, arts, entertainment and nightlife that cities has to offer. Time Out travel apps are entirely offline avoiding unexpected roaming charges.
This ties in with Time Out’s other major London/New York news story that last month Oakley Capital Investments made a significant investment in Time Out New York, which follows a previous 50% investment in Time Out London last November. The deal has been structured to support Time Out accelerate from magazine publisher to digital media group.
Key functionality features of the Time Out Travel Apps include
• Entirely offline maps and 'Locate Me' facility
• Bookmarks & day-by-day planner
• Search by venue name & keyword
• What's nearby, with distances from venues
Key editorial features include
• Inspire me
• Top 20s for Sightseeing, Eat & Drink, Nightlife & Shopping
• Editor's picks
• Area guides
