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City Sync Redux


Sun Dec 2, 2001 - 9:04 PM EST - By Douglas Morse

It's been over a year since I reviewed Lonely Planet's City Sync and since I am now on the road, I thought it would be a good time to revisit that review.

Before I left for a two month European tour, I dusted off the old CD ROM and found my all important registration number. From their web site, I updated the software to version 1.2, downloaded recent versions of London and Frankfurt, and received a code to unlock a fifth city.

I also downloaded a supplement called 'What's On' that purports to be a detailed listing of events in a given city -- updated every two months. I got the July/August version for London. (Now I am beginning to appreciate that 8mb in the Visor Deluxe)

Not much has changed with the software, and that is my biggest problem. I've been using Vindigo for some time now and I am impressed with its up to date movie listings (I use them all the time), restaurant guide, shops, and even the maps. Vindigo maps are clear and easy to use. You can even punch in an address and it gives you directions. When you point to a street, the name of it pops up.

Not so with City Sync. The maps are still cluttered, slow, and confusing. In the London map, there are even gaps in the coverage!

I was hoping the 'What's On' guide would begin to tackle the ability of Vindigo to give up to the date movie times. It contained some information about festivals and plays, but not enough specific information to be of any use. I still needed to go out and buy Time Out.

And that's what I find most frustrating with City Sync. It is not a stand-alone product. I still need a decent map, a good magazine guide to the city, and a decent guidebook. I expect a lot more from Lonely Planet, and this does not deliver.

Reporting from London, Doug Morse