Hand-held device can guide Japanese to sites on O'ahu

By Kelly Yamanouchi
Advertiser Staff Writer

Sony is marketing a hand-held computer navigation system using its CLIÉ handheld computer to help Japanese tourists get around O'ahu.

The electronic tour guide, called Leplan, directs visitors to tourist spots with the aim of making them feel more secure about getting to their destination safely.

Leplan, French for "the map," will be rented at airports in Japan to O'ahu-bound travelers for less than $10 a day starting Dec. 1.

If Leplan is successful in Honolulu, Sony Marketing Inc. in Japan plans to introduce the system to other tourist destinations, offering the guide in English and other languages.

The O'ahu Visitors Bureau is hoping the device will encourage Japanese tourists to visit more places and spend more money on their vacations.

The system will help "to ensure there's more information at the fingertips of the visitors, so they're going out there, they're spending," said Noelani Wheeler, director of marketing for the bureau.

While hand-held computer mapping and navigation systems are not new, the guide has been specifically designed for tourists navigating O'ahu.

Leplan system combines a CLIÉ, global positioning satellite unit and pre-recorded memory stick with information on Island visitor spots.

The O'ahu Visitors Bureau is providing the information for Leplan, which includes electronic O'ahu street maps and information on restaurants, hotels, shopping centers and entertainment.

Sony expects the device will help increase the number of Japanese tourists to Hawai'i, enhance their experience and boost traffic to O'ahu Visitors Bureau's business members.

Reach Kelly Yamanouchi at 535-2470, or at kyamanouchi@honoluluadvertiser.com.