Drogheda shooting ahead in the technology stakes
TOURISM APP LAUNCHED AND FREE WIFI PROVIDED
DROGHEDA ON the Boyne will be shooting ahead in the technology stakes with a state-of-the-art Smart Phone tourism App, as well as rolling out free Wifi in parts pf the town centre.
The ' iguide Drogheda on the Boyne' phone App is a new virtual guide launched this week aimed at promoting tourism, local businesses and jobs.
Developed as part of the Local Heroes project, the iguide is designed as a tool for both visitors and residents of the town, and follows on from the successful launch of iguide Dublin, which has over 200,000 downloads.
Stephen Mcelroy from Drogheda is Regional Sales Director of iguide Mobile Applications Ltd is delighted to be able to launch the first regional town app in his own home town.
'We've been developing the software from 2009 and the concept was released last year,' he told the Drogheda Independent.
'We've delivered a number of iguide solutions in Dublin, Belfast and in the UK, but this is the first regional town app, which was developed to support Drogheda's Local Heroes campaign.'
The App showcases ' Drogheda on the Boyne' and the Boyne Valley and will include listings for all the tourism attractions in the area.
There will also be a comprehensive local business directory, with businesses having direct access to the App to upload and manage their own content, in real-time.
'From a user's point of view, it's free to download and offers a personalised guide to the town which you can carry around with you in your pocket,' says Stephen, who lives in Greenhills and has been working on the new project for the past six weeks.
' The App will be directly linked with jobs sites and we're working in cooperation with droghedajobs.ie.'
Stephen cites the push notifications and Augmented Reality as great features of the App.
As all content is controlled from a content management system, App updating won't be necessary.
As new features are released, they are deployed to the CMS and immediately available through the App, and the alerts will target tourists and global users. ' The App is driven dynamically in real time, so from a content point of view it is updated instantly,' he says.
'One of the nice features is that you can send out notifications to all users informing people of things like new job entries or to promote upcoming festivals.
' This is a nice feature for the local community and any tourist visiting the town and can create interest from the global spread of the App."
This release will be initially available on iphone only, but iguide is looking at an Android version.
It will be launched en masse in West Street this Wednesday at the 'Christmas Spectacular' evening festival at 6pm, where anyone with an iphone will automatically receive the free App.
For more information visit www.iguidedrogheda.com and www.drogheda.ie.
- ALISON COMYN
