This has been a great week in Austin, Texas. It was a good chance to catch up on some great Texas traditions like floating down the Guadalupe River in an inner tube, trying some great local restaurants and sampling the local music scene. Ever on the lookout for dot mobi sites, I was not disappointed to find some local Austin mobi sites:

AustinWeather.mobi, for local Austin, Texas weather
HelloAustin.mobi, a mobile Austin, Texas city guide
sxsw.mobi, the mobile site for South by Southwest music festival, described here
Winksite.mobi Austin Blog, local Austin, Texas mobile bloggers’ site

There are others under development, so I’ll be sure to keep you updated on my next trip.

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If you’re in Australia or planning a trip, have a look at au1.mobi. The Australian mobile website directory is organized geographically for Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, West Australia, Northern Territory and ACT. The sites is further broken into cities and towns, so once you have your destination pinpointed, you can select from another menu which offers listings for accommodations, dining, events (“What’s going on”), shopping, transport, attractions and activities. The companion site for New Zealand, NZ1.mobi, was down at the time of this report. 

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Traveling to New York City just got easier, thanks to Manhattan.mobi. The Manhattan dot mobi site offers information about selected hotels, restaurants, transportation and emergency listings for police, hospital, towing and, in case you are traveling with a toddler the ever-important poison control information. Unlike other sites that link to .com pages, Manhattan dot mobi gives you actual photos and descriptions of the hotel rooms that you can see on your phone. The other resources are linked to Google pages to show the address and phone number of the NYC restaurants, towing service, etc.

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It doesn’t get any more local than this. Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, USA, has it’s own version of the phone number list on the refrigerator, but with a technological twist: these phone numbers can be clicked to dial the business listed when the site is viewed on a BlackBerry, iPhone or mobile phone. 07417.mobi allows local residents to dial up the mobile website and find the phone numbers for local restaurants and shops without incurring costly directory assistance charges. All they have to do is remember their zip code.

Plans are underway to invite local businesses to have their own mobi sites linked to the zip code site (for a fee, of course) to show directions, hours of operation, menus, product guides, and weekly specials, all from the convenience of remembering those five numbers, and of course “.mobi.” Good luck with the project, and we look forward to seeing your directory grow.

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Caribbean mobi Delivers a Slice of Heaven

Take your love of the Islands with you on your iPhone, Blackberry, iPod touch or mobile phone with ShopTheCaribbean.mobi. The site promises “Caribbean food and drink, beauty and fitness and lifestyle to music and fashion, house and home plus sweet deals and more.” Shop the Caribbean mobi also reviews Caribbean shopping websites (caution: not all are mobile enabled) so you can take some of the Island beauty home. Settle in, read for awhile and soon you’ll be transported by the beauty of the people, the palm trees and the smell of jerk chicken (if you buy their spices, that is) as the moon rises and the steel drum bands start to play. It sounds like the mobiEnthusiast is overdue for a trip!

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Banff National Park in Banff, Alberta, Canada, is home to a film festival, and is a popular tourist destination year round. Whistler, BC, Canada, is a popular tourist town as well. Now you can find out all about the towns from your mobile phone thanks to a pair of dot mobi sites, banff.mobi and whistler.mobi. The mobile sites include tours and activities, skiing & snowboarding, shopping, restaurants, spas, and real estate. The Banff mobi site also has a webcam and weather report.

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Boroughs mobi is the winning mobi site for the mobility mobi Mobi of the Month for March 2008. Boroughs is a New York geographical site, and has the added distinction of being featured on the iPhone apps page at apple.com. Boroughs mobi features local events and local search for the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island, as well as weather, news, maps and traffic reports. Congratulations!

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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.

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San Diego Sand and Surf on your Cell Phone

Planning a visit to San Diego? Check SDCA mobi before you go. You can find weather, traffic, and the all-important surf report. Now all you need is some sunscreen. 

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