Lonely Planet today launched a limited public beta of Wenzani, an iPhone app combining local recommendations from Lonely Planet, Frommer's Travel, BBC Travel, Time Out, Hearst, DK Eyewitness and others.
The free app for iPhone and iPod touch was available today from the App Store, and downloads would be limited to the first 100,000 people for the beta.
Lonely Planet's recommendations don't get priority placement in the app, a Lonely Planet spokeswoman says, although it is branded Wenzani by Lonely Planet.
Wenzani is a wholly owned subsidiary of Lonely Planet.
Wenzani is a Zulu greetings for "what are you doing," and the app covers recommendations on restaurants entertainment, events, shopping, hotels, and cultural activities, including those geared for kids.
"Wenzani's technology presents the content according to context and relevancy, taking into consideration the user's location and their social network so that the information is constantly uploaded while on the go" the company says. "Soon, Wenzani will filter by other factors such as weather, time of day and whether the user is a local or visitor so it becomes more tailored and relevant to the user's needs in real time."
Of course, Wenzani has the requesite social travel elements. Users can view friends recommendations, compile them or ask their friends questions.
"Like any platform, Wenzani offers publishers a chance to get their brand and content in front of consumers," the spokeswoman says.
Asked about the business model among competitors, the spokeswoman says "later iterations of the guide may include monetization opportunities, from which our our partners will share revenue, but we're still working out if and how that would happen."
The free nature of the app represents a departure for Lonely Planet, which primarily offers paid apps for its various city and country guides.
However, that doesn't preclude Wenzani eventually becoming a paid app once the limited public beta is completed.
Here's a video explaining the app:
Introducing Wenzani from Wenzani on Vimeo.