About information for the Europe Travel Guides

Why the Europe Travel Guides?:

Why should I buy a Europe Travel Guide because almost all information is available in Search Engines for free?
Well, that's right. But like all things that are free, there is a problem. The information in Search Engines is often chaotic,fragmented, not relevant, out of date or not accessible anymore.
The information in the Europe Travel Guides is structured (if you want all hotels in Kiev, you get all hotels in Kiev, not more and not less), peridodically updated and re-published and always accessable because the information is stored on your laptop or in your Smartphone.
All Europe Travel Guides are formatted in exactly the same way and the information for a hotel in Azerbaijan is presented in the same way as for a hotel in Reykjavik.
And very important: the information is complete; with full contact information of the hotels, restaurants, etc. so you can make your own bookings (and save money) and base your decisions on real facts where to go and stay.
When choosing the Smartphone version, you have all that information in you phone, always raedy to be consulted without extra network costs.

Collecting, structuring, standardising, normalising, presenting and publishing the information like it is done in the Europe Travel Guides for only one city would cost you days if not weeks or months. Printed versions of the travel guides are also available, but the price is much higher then for the electronic version.

So why the Europe Travel Guides? Because they save you time and money.

Europe Travel Guides website:

This website is designed for IE [Internet Explorer] 6.0 or later with JavaScript and CSS enabled.

Europe Travel Guides versions

There are 2 versions of the Europe Travel Guides:
- one for PC's, laptops, Tablet PC's, UMPC's and NOKIA's 9300/9500 Smartphones which run Symbian S60 3rd edition OS
- one for Symbian S60 3rd edition OS NOKIA Smartphones with a screensize of approximatly 2,8 inch. This is a whole range of models which is contineously extended (E61, E62, E70, N71, N75, N80, N92, N95 and many more)
The most important criteria is that all the platforms must run a PDF reader, because the travel guides are pdf files.
- The PC's, laptops, Tablet PC's and UMPC's can use the Adobe PDF Reader version 6 or later.
- All the Smartphones with Symbian S60 OS can use the mBrain Software called PDF+ reader for all models.

All Europe Travel Guide versions can be downloaded from this website. The 2 versions have different dimensions:

Both versions can be used on a PC, laptop, UMPC, etc. although the small screen size of the mobile version is not practical on a PC. The PC version can only be used on the 9300/9500 Smartphones.
Both versions contain detailed descriptions of products and service from the travel industry and use the English langauge. They contain all hotels, restaurants, museums, thetaers, taxis, car rentals, airlines for all European capitals and major cities.

To use the Europe Travel Guides [ETG] on a PC, you need the free Adobe Reader 6.0 or later for Windows XP, which you can download from:

To use the Europe Travel Guides [ETG] on a S60 Smartphone like the Nokia E61/E62 or the 9300/9500, you need the mBrain Software PDF+ Reader for Symbian (S60), which you can download from:

This reader is called the "PDF+ reader" and is the only reader which offers the full interactive functionality for the Europe Travel Guides. This reader also can handle very large PDF files. A detailed help and user instructions for this PDF+ reader can be found HERE and in the readers help file.
We strongly advise you to use this PDF+ reader for the Nokia Smartphones and not any other reader!

Downloading the Europe Travel Guides

All Europe Travel Guides can be downloaded from this website. Some are free and give you the possibility to test the pdf files on your PC or mobile phone. The latest versions which are contineously updated and extended require a micro-payment (a small fee) which makes nobody rich and nobody poor and only covers the costs of maintaining this rather large website.

After clicking on the link with e.g. "Amsterdam BUY" the pages from the authorized payment processor - PayPal - appear and you must login and approve the micro-payment. (If you don't have a PayPal account, you can create one or use your credit card). After payment a webpage with download instructions appear and provides you with instant access to the PDF file. Also an e-mail is sent to your e-mail address with download and use instructions. The specified download link expires after 48 hours.

The Europe Travel Guides PDF files contain a moderate level of DRM (printing, changing) which in no way limits the usage of an electronic travel guide. There is no DRM which "ties" the PDF file to a medium or platform and you can make copies for your private use. (Re)distribution or (re)selling of the PDF files is forbidden and will be prosecuted.

We recommend to save the downloaded PDF file on the harddisk of your PC, laptop, etc. in a folder called eBooks. You can insert this folder under My Documents. The travel guide for the PC is now ready to use and can be read with the Adobe Reader version 7.0 or later.

The PDF file for the mobile phone requires a last step: the transfer from the PC to the mobile phone. We recommend to insert a directory named "eBooks" or "PDF" on the miniSD memory card and store all travel guides in this directory. The transfer of the PDF file from the PC to the Nokia smartphone must be executed with the Nokia PC Suite. Consult your Nokia User Manual before attempting to store a file. The travel guide for the SmartPhone is now ready to use and can be read with the mBrainsoftware PDF+ Reader version 1.0 or later.

Content and layout of Europe Travel Guides

Both versions of the Europe Travel Guides contain about the same information; same text and same photos. The main difference is the interactivity. In the Windows version only the e-mails and website url's are "hot"; in the Symbian version also the telephone number is "hot" and when pressing a button on the phone, the reception of the hotel is there to talk to you. In the Symbian version the hot items are designated with a small boundery box.

Use of this website

You can select a destination country from the menu at the left, or use the interactive map of Europe. You can download the pdf with a right click or view the PDF online with a left click of your mouse.
It is recommended to download the travel guides in stead of reading them online.

NB: The pdf files requiring a micro-payment will not open; in stead the page of our payment processor will appear.

Hyperlinks in PDF file on PC's, laptops en Tablet PC's:

When you click on a hyperlink in a downloaded PDF, the web site of the hotel opens in a new window. When closing the web site, you return to the ETG in the Reader.
When you click on a hyperlink in an online PDF, the web site is displayed i.s.o. the ETG and you have to use the backbutton to return to the ETG.

Hyperlinks in PDF file for S60 SmartPhones:

There are 3 types of hyperlinks when using the Europe Travel Guides on Smartphones:
- the hyperlinks to a website from e.g. the hotel or restaurant. In most cases this is not a website designed for display on mobile phone screens, so you need to do a lot of scrolling.
- the hyperlink to the telephone exchange of e.g. the hotel or the restaurant. Select the telephone number and call the telephone number from within the pdf file. When the hotel operator picks up the phone, you immediatly can talk to the operator via your mobile phone. This only works with the E61 from Nokia.
- the hyperlink to the e-mail address of the hotel. You can enter the text and send the text from within the pdf file.
For a detailed description of the hyperlink behaviour on the Smartphone, please consult the manual of the phone and the detailed description of the installed PDF+ reader.

Downloading the Europe Travel Guides for PC's, laptops, Tablet PC's and UMPC's:

For these platforms the files on the site http://www.europe-travel-guides.com can be used.

Downloading the Europe Travel Guides for Mobile Phones:

For these devices the files on the site http://www.europe-travel-guides.com or on http://www.europe-eguides.com can be used.

Microsoft AntiSpyware:

When running this AntiSpyware program in real time, it causes Adobe Reader 7.0.2 to delay the activation of an Hyperlink within a PDF file and subsequently causes a crash of the Adobe Reader. When the realtime protection is stopped, the Reader works OK.

Online Help

In case you need further assistance, please state your problem - describe in ddetail - and sent an email to: help@europe-travel-guides.com