AthensBook: The Smart Guide to Athens
Wouldn't it be cool to make a mobile app that would provide up-to-date, intelligent local information for the greater Athens metropolitan area?
When we started developing AthensBook, we set out to collect points of interest (POIs) and developed tools to locate them geographically. We focused on a limited number of POI categories, for two reasons: to ensure a higher level of accuracy and completeness; and to offer something more than a simple list of locations. We also decided to focus on the kinds of local information that will be most useful and pertinent to users who are 'on the go' -- the kinds of places that you typically would seek when you're on the road; not the ones you'd most often plan ahead for.
Smart Information. Timely Information. Personalized Information.
So what does AthensBook do that's so cool? It helps you find what you are looking for, not just what's out there. It uses the geolocation facilities of your mobile phone to help you find points of interest in your immediate geographic area that are of use to you! That means timely, smart information, and a number of cool features that you wouldn't get on your typical GPS device or other POI or navigation applications.
For example, want to find the nearest open pharmacy? How about the nearest and cheapest gas station? Or a list of the nearby chinese restaurants. Sorted by price. That actually deliver food to your location. (Of course AthensBook has pricing, delivery, opening hours and cuisine information for all types of restaurants, not just those serving chinese food)
AthensBook is also a great guide for those visiting: you can find information about open museums and archæological sites, see the movies playing on that day with their showtimes and a list of theaters playing those movies sorted by distance. You can have one-tap access to traffic, public transportation, public services and hospitals for those times you need them. AthensBook has action menus on most categories: they can be found on the top-right part of the screen on iOS devices, and by pressing the menu button on Android devices. These provide additional features relevant to the currently shown information, like sorting, showing everything on the map or toggling between different presentation modes.
Information is also presented in consistent manner: tapping on an item on most categories shows the selected point on the map. There you get the option of 'routing' between your current location and the point. A 'Map All' button is available on the action menu, allowing you to see all the points at once!
Finally, when the information is available you'll find a green 'call' button that allows you to call any of the displayed places of interest on the list, just by tapping it. That should make ordering or booking a table at your favorite restaurant or checking for your medication at the nearest pharmacy easy!
You can contribute to AthensBook, too! Just visit our Contribute! page from your browser and start entering your favorite places for a number of categories; if you wish to access Contribute! from within AthensBook you can do so from the main menu, by tapping on the small button at the top left (the one with the 'gears' icon) on iOS devices, or through the menu button on Android devices. You can also recommend your favorite places to others from within the app: Just tap the gray heart next to a place's name and it turns red. You can even sort by popularity, to see what other bars, restaurants, wine cellars or patisseries others recommended in your part of town!
AthensBook was free since day one and will remain so forever. We're constantly enriching the application with more features, more categories and smarter content so that you know that every time you open the application you're getting the most recent data. We're also adding social features, like the 'favorites'. And a whole lot more is coming.
AthensBook is currently available on iOS and Android and we're planning on supporting other platforms in the future. You can keep in touch with what's happening in the AthensBook world by checking our blog, our twitter account or our Facebook page, or, if you prefer more old-fashioned means of communicating, by completing and submitting this form.
Check out what AthensBook has to offer
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Click on the icons on the left to find out more about the AthensBook features.
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Pharmacies, where you want them, when you want them
You can see the pharmacist's name, the street address and a green phone icon, which you can tap on to give them a call (say you want to confirm the availability of a medication). By tapping elsewhere on any single pharmacy on the list, you can see it on the map.
The data is timely: you will only get pharmacies that are open at the time you make the query. So if you look for pharmacies outside their normal business hours, or on weekends and holidays, you will only see those that are on duty at that particular time.
Data for this module is provided by the Association of Pharmacies of Attica and the Association of Pharmacists of Piraeus
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Price matters: the cheapest gas stations in your area
Tap here and you will get a list of all currently open nearby gas stations, sorted by distance from your location. In addition to the information you would typically expect to find (brand name, street address and distance from your location), you will also see the most recently recorded fuel prices for each station, as provided by the fuelprices.gr service of the Hellenic Ministry of Development. You can even specify the type of fuel for which prices are displayed in the AthensBook Settings. A green tick mark indicates that the price has been updated within the last 48 hours. You can also sort by price: Just tap on the additional options button ('...') button at the top right and change the sorting mode.
Again, the information here is timely. Note that due to the looser structure of gas station duties, you will most likely get fewer gas stations than are actually open outside normal business hours. We have decided to include only those gas stations that are on mandatory duty, and should be open, according to the data provided by the Athens Gas Station Owners' Association.
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Hospitals
Tap here and you will get a list of all nearby hospitals, sorted by distance from your location. You can make a quick call to each hospital on the list by tapping the green phone button.
The information here is complete, but not timely (hospital duties are notoriously complex, and we have decided against including them in AthensBook right now). Tapping on the phone button for each hospital will help you determine whether a specific clinic is open at the time.
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When plastic is not enough.
Urgent need for cash? Tap here and you will get a list of all nearby bank branches and external ATMs, sorted by distance from your location. You can even specify your preferred bank in the AthensBook section of your iPhone's Settings and have the list filtered automatically.
By tapping on any ATM on the list, you will see it on the map. Tap 'Route' on the map view to get driving and walking directions from your current location. You can also see all nearby banks and external ATMs together on the map -- just tap on the additional options button ('...') and pick 'Map All'. Currently AthensBook includes only the ATMs points that have a publicly accessible ATM at all hours of the day.
Official data by the banks.
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Movie time!
With AthensBook you have the handiest guide to the movies in the palm of your hand. Check which movies are playing today, their showtimes and the theaters close to you that show them. Get movie information including the cast, director, a plot summary and the poster (try tapping on it for the full size!). The trailer of the movie is also provided, if it's available so you can get as much information about the movie as possible. Calling the cinema to book a ticket is also possible, by tapping on the green button in the theatre list. (iOS only)
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Get them groceries.
AthensBook provides a handy list of the nearest supermarkets, for those times when you need to get to one fast, but are on the go. Currently the list includes stores by AB Vasilopoulos, Sklavenitis, Prasino Biomarket and Carrefour.
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No More Jam. Live Traffic Information!
Stuck in traffic? Not anymore. AthensBook is the first mobile app to offer real-time traffic information for the city of Athens, at the unbeatable price of free! Tapping here you can get a list of road events that may impede your drive, as well as a quick, color-coded rundown of the traffic conditions in Athens. If the color bar on the left the row is red, better stay away; if it's orange prepare for a longer trip. Tap on the map icon to see all this information on an interactive map!
Data provided by our great partners, Infotrip S.A., makers of myroute.gr.
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Oh so sweet
Tap here and you will get a list of all nearby patisseries, sorted by distance from your location. You can choose from hundreds of selected stores and get your loved ones something great when paying them a visit. You can tap the green phone button to make a call, or the grey heart on the left to mark a patisserie that you liked and would recommend to others.
The additional options button allows you to sort patisseries by popularity -- a very useful feature, especially when you're in a part of town that you're not all that familiar with.
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Visiting Friends? Don't Go Empty Handed!
Tap here and you will get a list of all nearby wine cellars, sorted by distance from your location. You can choose from hundreds of selected stores and get your loved ones something great when paying them a visit. You can tap the green phone button to make a call, or the grey heart on the left to mark a wine cellar that you liked and would recommend to others.
You can also sort wine cellar by popularity -- a very useful feature, especially when you're in a part of town that you're not all that familiar with.
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Public Services, at your fingertips
Tap here and you will get a list of all currently open nearby police stations, post offices, citizen service points (KEP), tax bureaus and traffic police stations, sorted by distance from your location. Calling them on the phone is a single tap away. If, for some reason, you'd like to see all nearby public services regardless of their working hours, all you have to do is tap on the the additional options button ('...') and pick 'Show all services'.
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It's not just the Acropolis
Tap here and you will get a list of all currently open nearby museums, archaeological and historical sites sorted by distance from your location, with their current entrance fees. Calling them on the phone is a single tap away. If, for some reason, you'd like to see all nearby sites regardless of their working hours, all you have to do is tap on the the additional options button ('...') and pick 'Show all sites'.
What's great about this category is not only that it knows which sites are open at the time of your search, but that it also provides you with the listed entrance fees, where available. Free entrance day? AthensBook will let you know!
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Taxis, at your fingertips.
Tap here to find nearby taxi stations or pick from a comprehensive list of radio taxi services to order a cab right away. View nearby stations on the map, schedule a ride to the airport or mark your favorite radio taxi services. AthensBook Taxi is brought to you by City Walkers, the campaign for responsible drinking by Diageo and Johnnie Walker. (iOS only)
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The night is young.
Find your nearest live venue. Or a classy hotel bar. Or just an all-day bar that serves food. AthensBook has 'em all, in a convenient list that even shows you whether a bar or club has an outdoor area, or if it serves food. You can even recommend your favorites by tapping on that gray heart next to the venue's name and — as usual — find the most popular bar or club around you as 'voted' by the tens of thousands of AthensBook users.
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Where to Eat
Tap here and you will get a list of all nearby restaurants, sorted by distance from your location. You get a bevy of additional, useful information for each restaurant on the list: what cuisine you should expect to taste, an indicative price, and whether they do home delivery (represented by a red delivery car). If you want to reserve a table or order for delivery, all you have to do is tap on the green call button. If running AthensBook 1.5, you can also tap on the grey heart on the left to mark a restaurant that you liked and would recommend to others.
AthensBook Restaurants' additional options button ('...') features a powerful set of sorting and filtering options that will help you find exactly what you're looking for. Want to find nearby Sushi places that deliver at home? Just tap on 'Filter by cuisine', then on 'Delivery only'. You can also sort by indicative price and popularity -- a very useful feature, especially when you're in a part of town that you're not all that familiar with.
For the Restaurants category, indicative price symbols only provide an estimated price range, as offered by the restaurants themselves. Since prices may change, the best way to get the most reliable, up-to-date information is to call the restaurant by tapping on the green button.
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All aboard!
Tap here and you will get a list of all nearby public transportation stations, sorted by distance from your location. This category includes metro, tramway and suburban railway stations and will soon be enriched with more services.
You can see the type of service, line number, whether there is parking around the station, and a small status indicator on the top right of each cell, which tells you whether the station is open (green), whether it is closing soon (orange), or whether it's closed (red). If we have detailed service hours (like, for example, for metro stations), you will see departure times for the last trains next to the orange indicator, and departure times for the first trains next to the red indicator.
AthensBook Public Transportation is constantly being updated with current data. (iOS only)
