Using an iPhone & iPad in Thailand Tips, App Reviews and News for the iPhone and iPad by Richard Barrow

Free Bangkok Guidebook

Forget about heavy guide books or tricky to fold maps. Don’t waste time getting lost or ending up in the wrong places. Download this app for your iPhone while at home and use offline without an internet connection.

Guidebooks for the iPhone are improving all the time. I wouldn't say that they are going to replace the print versions just yet as they are not as comprehensive. However, they do have a distinct advantage over the heavy guidebooks in that they will tell you where you are on the map and what is nearby! A new iPhone app that does this well is called City Guide Bangkok Guidepal.  The attractions section gives you 19 of the top attractions that can be found in Bangkok. You get one picture and a brief background of about 150 words for that attraction. Some of them include admission prices and directions. But not all. However, there is a link to find the attraction on a map.

In other sections you get information for shopping, restaurants & bars and also nightlife. The map feature works well for me. It is easy to see where you are on the map and what is nearby. What is interesting is the Augmented Reality function (nearby button) which allows you to point your iPhone in different directions and it will tell you what is that way and how far! It is certainly a good app for someone visiting Bangkok for the first time. But I would like to see more. For example, maps of the mass transport system. The guides don't really tell you how to get to a place and I think a newcomer would need more help.

Electronic guides have an advantage over the print version as they can be updated much quicker so that the information is more accurate. That is one problem with the traditional guidebooks as two years can pass before it is printed.  However, even though this is a new app, many of the admission prices are out of date. This is strange as the prices went up more than a year ago. There are also a number of other mistakes which is a shame. They call the National Stadium Station by the name of "National Museum". They also say Central World is a great shopping mall even though it burned down a month or so before the app came out. Having said all of that, I would highly recommend you download City Guide Bangkok Guidepal as it is a step in the right direction. You also cannot argue with the price as it is free!