Although of late I have traveled with an iPad, I have never really used Lonely Planet PDF downloadable chapters. I am sort of looking for something a little more when using an electronic device. The use of GPS and offline maps is the way to go here, but there is much work to be done by all involved until they become the norm.

I understand your point in relation to iPads and the like undertaking tough journeys, but down the track I believe they will be the first thing packed for any trip abroad. I haven’t done any real tough journeys with an iPad although ours did survive a double roll over in a 4WD so I suppose that’s a good selling point.

The electricity is also a good point, but I the battery life of the iPad is already quite good (approx 10 hours of video playback) and I only see this improving over time. We do also have a solar charger, that seems to work quite well as well and we tested this in Madagascar last year.

Going forward, I am not so sure on where Lonely Planet will end up. My reference to Microsoft was that they were the only name in town a few years back, and in my view are beginning to struggle a little as the technological world moves forward. There still a big player (due to runs they have on the board from previous years), but are losing ground to other big tech names quite quickly.

I suppose time will have the answer, and we’re all just guessing (makes for a good conversation though). I think the real change will come when it’s just the Gen Y’s and beyond you are traveling the world and they will just come to expect these latest technologies as the norm.

As people can see by the amount I have spent on Lonely Planet guidebooks over the years, I like the brand and hope they continue to do well, I’m just not so sure they will have such a stranglehold on the market in years to come.

Thanks for your comment mate, I like a good discussion such as this…

Accommodation, I use LP recommendations as a last resort, or if there is nothing online about a town.

I only used their food reviews once, as treat, otherwise it’s generally out of my budget.

The PDF’s I tried. And although the concept is good. The practicality is not in terms of printing. But the time you’ve bought the pdf, and then found a place that will print out on both sides of a page, it ends up costing you more than than the book. Though not nearly as much as the faded fakes out there.

Which, I might add helped me much more in India and Pakistan than the real book.

Granted things like ipads and the like will help in this regards. But, you can’t fold up an ipad, or help it survive a journey for several days with bad or no electricity in Norther Pakistan etc.

So yes, lot of good point to be made here. Will LP continue it’s domination …. yes, as you so very well put it, LP is the Microsoft of guide books.

That said, wiki travel has a lot to offer up for free these days. I think when the right portable device comes along, or batteries can keep on going, then it will falter LP.

That’s a good point you make about the copies of the guidebooks, and I think the new application world will put a sizable dent in that market in the future. I’m just not sure if it will be Lonely Planet that will stay in the position it sits at this particular time. They have started to make inroads into the digital guidebook, with offline maps and the like, but I believe they have stalled a little in this market.

I just have a hunch there may be some new whiz bang technology just around the corner, that may somehow use all of the varied information on the net, and allow the user to pick and choose what they want and then wrap it all up in a single container to make for a neat and easily readable page to the reader. Then again maybe I’m dreaming….. Thanks for your input mate.

I believe that in a few years all guide books will be a thing of the past – the kindle, iPod Touch, iPad and other similar devices will now line every backpacker & tourist’s luggage and all information will be on hand digitally.

It’s all about weight when travelling. I’ll be showing my age when I say that I remember when we used to lug our TDK C-90 cassettes & Sony Walkmans around Asia and other parts.

I think going digital will help LP and other firms initially as in most parts of the world the guides have been so pirated that only a few (when in country) would buy an original copy.

Not a lot of people know how to download an e-book, PDF or app illegally and add it to their device so in this respect I am sure many will resort to buying the original release.

Fair play to the Wheelers though.

The ebooks are the future in some form or another, but I don’t think it’s in the form of PDF downloads of the old fashion guidebook. I know Lonely Planet is working on their application based versions as well, but as pointed out in the post, I think they’ve stalled a little with this format.

I suppose where at a time like in the 70′s where Lonely Planet evolved into what it is today. I just wonder who will come out on top this time? Will it be the giant in Lonely Planet, or will the industry be fractured into many smaller and more personal methods??? Thanks for your input mate. You’ve definitely got a bit of authority when it comes to these maters.

It’s 3.00am and your desperate for somewhere to sleep. How many times have you been in that situation, and you just whip out the old LP and more often than not your pointed in the right direction. The cost of the book is covered in that one action if you ask me. Thanks for your input.

I agree that it’s easy for people to gain up to the minute details from blogs and social media, but I still think something is missing with this method. The need to collate the information and display it in an easy to read and find method. The times are a changing though. Thanks for your input.

the candy trail … a nomad across the planet, since 1988