Katherine,

Like you said...developing traditional cell phone technology is costly and 
most museums can not afford to create traditional cell phone audio tours.

However, there are dynamic free alternatives museums can use to develop 
audio and video tours used on iPhones, cell phones, and social sites. One of 
the main functions of iPhones is the user friendly ability to navigate on 
the Internet and interact with media as well as make traditional phone 
calls.  Cell phone companies are scrambling to create cell phones with 
better dual purposes for interacting on the Internet and making traditional 
calls.

Over the next several years the evolution of cell phones, iPhones, PDAs, and 
other hand helds is towards Internet interaction and most cell phones will 
have the ability to download or listen to streaming media, so the need for 
traditional "dial up" cell phone technology diminishes.

So with this in mind, take a look at these social directories of Museum 
Media for iPhones and Cell Phones at: http://www.museumpods.com/id360.html 
I developed them based on increased Internet access of hand held devices and 
social site usage using RSS and Atom technology.  Using RSS and Atom 
technology also made it easy to integrate museum blogs for use on iPhones 
and cells with Internet connection. You can click on the links to access 
much of the media created by museums that is already iPhone and cell phone 
ready and see what it looks like on each device.  If you scroll down under 
the Museum Media section you will notice about 250 museum blogs are now 
iPhone and cell phone enabled.  The platforms are a little different because 
iPhones interfaces are not the same as cells.

Basically, when a museum uploads a new audio or video tour podcast or blog 
article it automatically uploads to the iPhone and Cell directories. These 
directories are social as well as viral, which means along with being iPhone 
and cell phone ready they are Social Site widget applications approved by 
Facebook and can be used on any social including (MySpace, Bebo, blogs, 
websites...)

If you want more info on how to do this just email I have all the technology 
set up to make media for iPhones and cell phones and it is all free.  I am 
conducting an online Webinar in November on how to do all these things.  I 
can send you a link if you want.

Kurt Stuchell
[log in to unmask]





----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Kathy Haas" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, August 28, 2008 3:37 PM
Subject: Re: [MUSEUM-L] cell phones or headphones


> The Rosenbach considered developing a cell-phone tour for a one-year 
> special
> exhibition, but ultimately couldn't afford to do so because of the monthly
> fees. We also had some concerns about the use of phones (potentially with
> cell-phone cameras) in the galleries and about visitors without phones,
> especially since our visitors tend to skew older.
>
> However I have recently been talking to colleagues at the Mutter Museum 
> and
> the Philadelphia Museum of Art about their experience with cell-phones and
> they have been very positive about it. They cite the easy ability to 
> upload
> and change text and the ability to get very detailed information about
> visitor use of the tours, including which stops a visitor listens to, how
> long they listen, etc.
>
> Katherine Haas
> Curatorial Assistant
> Rosenbach Museum & Library
> 2008-2010 DeLancey Place
> Philadelphia, PA 19103
> Tel: 215-732-1600 X129
> Fax: 215-545-7529
> Email: [log in to unmask]
> Web: http://www.rosenbach.org
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On 
> Behalf
> Of Heather Getson
> Sent: Thursday, August 28, 2008 1:13 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: [MUSEUM-L] cell phones or headphones
>
> Hello Everyone,
>
> Do any of you have experience with the use of cell phones for exhibit
> (audio) interpretation?
>
> Has it been worthwhile?  Any notable problems or successes?
>
> Does the use of cell phones work better or worse than more traditional
> headphone use?
>
> Thank you,
> Heather
>
> Heather-Anne Getson
> Historian,  Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic
> Lunenburg, Nova Scotia
> [log in to unmask]
>
> Telephone: 902.634.4794 ext. 230
> Website: http://fisheries.museum.gov.ns.ca
> Blog:  http://www.fisheries-museum.blogspot.com/
> General History blog: http://www.southshorenow.ca/blogs/looking/index.php
>
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