It tells you what you're passing.
Guideling is an audio guide for iPhone. It follows the road ahead, and a few seconds before you reach something worth knowing about, it tells you about it, while you can still look.
Famous places. Unexpected stories.
Two more, from Tokyo and Dubai, as the app told them on a drive past. You don't tap anything, search for anything or follow a tour: start it, put the phone down, and travel.
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Tokyo Tower
“Recycled American tanks from the Korean War built this Tokyo landmark.”
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Burj Khalifa
“Residents above the 80th floor wait two extra minutes for sunset.”
It starts early enough to look.
Every story is timed to finish about four seconds before you draw level with the place, so there's a moment to turn your head and see it. The faster you're going, the further out it begins.
Pick how you're travelling to see where a half-minute story starts.
45m
ahead, at 5 km/h (3 mph). About 150 feet.
175m
ahead, at 20 km/h (12 mph). About 575 feet.
350m
ahead, at 40 km/h (25 mph). About a fifth of a mile.
600m
ahead, at 70 km/h (45 mph). About four tenths of a mile.
1km
ahead, at 120 km/h (75 mph). About two thirds of a mile.
If you glance at it
Most of the time the phone stays in your pocket. When you look, it shows what it's talking about and nothing else.
Only what you can see
The place being described is ringed on the map, with its name on the speaking card below.
Then quiet
Between stories it says nothing, for at least half a minute and usually longer. The card keeps what it last said and how long ago.
Set once, before you leave
Choose how much it talks and what it talks about. Nothing needs changing on the move.
What it costs
The first five stories are free, with no account, and they don't expire. Once they're used it goes quiet, mid-trip if need be, until you buy a pass. It doesn't renew.
Freefirst five stories
$2.99a day
$4.99three days
$9.99a week
Pricing in full · US prices; the app shows yours
Where it works
Road trips, trains, bikes and walks. It runs alongside your map, and pauses or lowers your music while it talks.
Road trips · Walking and cycling · Compared with audio tours
What we keep
No account needed, no ads, no tracking. Your position isn't stored unless you send a drive with feedback or plan a route, and nothing about you is sold.
Get early access
Guideling isn't on the App Store yet. Leave your email and we'll send you the beta invite, then write once more when it's on the App Store. There's no newsletter.