GasFoodLodging.mobi provides locations and directions for gas stations, restaurants, and hotels right to a traveler’s mobile phone, iPhone, or Smartphone, without any additional software to download or buy.

Seattle, Washington — Road warriors of all varieties have a new tool to help them find essential services on their next road trip: http://GasFoodLodging.mobi. GasFoodLodging.mobi allows motorists to quickly, easily, and safely locate upcoming gas stations, restaurants, and hotels right from their mobile phone or laptop computer without the need to get out of the car or rely on strangers or maps. This is especially helpful if the traveler needs these services at night, in isolated areas, or in bad weather.

“Most people hate to stop and ask for directions, and now they don’t have to. GasFoodLodging.mobi can help any motorist avoid unpleasant surprises. This service is tailor-made for frequent road warriors, regional sales representatives, RV enthusiasts, families on vacation, or students on a road trip,” says David Gershman, entrepreneur and creator of the mobile website.

Here’s how it works:
1. Open the mobile phone browser to access the Internet
2. In the mobile browser’s address line, type http://gasfoodlodging.mobi (the address ends in .mobi, not .com) and connect to the site
3. Select either “City/State” or “ZIP Code” to begin the search
4. Select the gas, food, or lodging icon to get the type of business needed
5. Type the city name and select the state from the drop-down menu, or enter the nearest ZIP code, if you know it
6. Get extended results for a specific distance outside the city by entering a number of miles in the “Radius” box
7. Click “Find”

Results for each gas station, restaurant, or place to stay will appear, along with three links: one for a map, another for directions, and another with a phone number that has a “click to call” feature enabled. This allows the traveler to call the business without looking up the phone number or writing it down, simply by clicking on the phone link.

There is no charge to use the service, and all that is required is a phone with Internet access, such as an iPhone, BlackBerry, Smartphone, or other Web-enabled mobile phone. Motorists can also use the service from their laptop or netbook computer from any Wi-Fi hotspot.

“We’re asked all the time if GasFoodLodging.mobi is available as a downloadable App for the iPhone. It isn’t, but it is featured in the Apple Web Apps showcase. The beauty of GasFoodLodging.mobi is that it doesn’t need to be downloaded and take up hard drive space. It’s as easy as bookmarking it on the phone’s browser,” says Gershman.

About GasFoodLodging.mobi:
GasFoodLodging.mobi is based in Seattle, Washington, USA. It is a free mobile website to help motorists and travelers throughout the United States. GasFoodLodging.mobi is specially designed as a .mobi website with fast load time, small graphics, and nothing to download.

Disclosure:

GasFoodLodging.mobi is a Public Relations client of Mobienthusiast.mobi. Mobienthusiast.mobi frequently publishes press releases for sites that are not clients at no additional charge if they fit the format of the blog.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

This is what I love about well-designed mobile sites: They give you the information you need quickly without all the fuss. No flash, no javascript, just good old fashioned information.

The SonicDriveIn.mobi site delivers on the promise of what a fast food mobile website ought to be. It is small, it loads quickly, and it provides a complete menu with nutritional information. This is very helpful information for people who are watching calories or fat grams. The “NOW at SONIC!” section highlights their main promotion, an “Everyday Value Meal” with menu items for $1.

The Sonic mobile site also has a location zip code location search at the top of the site in red (US only) and a city/state locator on a separate page. I do question the completeness of their search, however. Why are they advertising so heavily on television in San Diego if no San Diego locations show up in the search results? These results are missing from their .com site, too, so perhaps they need to update their database.

Sonic is involved in social media, and they have a Facebook group according to their .com site. A mobile Facebook link would help them tie this site into their social media presence, as would a Twitter account. If Sonic wanted to take things a step further, they could combine the mobile site with a registration process to send out SMS (text messaging) coupons to their subscribers.

All in all, I’d say this is an excellent model for what a chain restaurant’s mobile site should be.

This post is featured in Carnival of The Mobilists (computer link), a weekly round-up of mobile blog posts from around the world. Please visit the Carnival and enjoy what my colleagues have to say.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

If you want Mexican food in Sacramento, California, and you lost your take-out menu, never fear. Kico’s Mexican Restaurant has their menu online for your iPhone, blackberry or mobile phone at kicos.mobi. Now we’re getting hungry.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

The big game is over, but if you are hungry and want to order a pizza then point your phone browser (or desktop browser) to locatepizza.mobi. mobi Enthusiast tested several zip codes (U.S. only) and found that the service is a full database to find a pizza place near you, minus the directory assistance charges. Now you just need to decide whether to order thin crust pizza or deep dish pizza.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites