Please consult this list of Frequently Asked Questions. If you don't see your question on the list, just email us or call.
Stylus & Touch-screen:
Our software enables the user to operate the tour either with touch-screen controls and a stylus or using the directional keypad on the device. In the case of the latter, we have developed a convenient system that allows you to scroll quickly through the commands and select the appropriate one.
Directional keypad controls
Given the reduced size of mobile devices, screen size is precious real estate - too precious often to use a control bar on the screen. Racontours' platform allows the user to alternate between zoom, pan and audio controls with the touch of a finger.
Activating the tour
Activating our tours on your handheld device is a very simple process. After purchasing the device, the user is supplied with a customer ID #. This number is entered into the device, which then communicated automatically with our database, activating the tour and enabling it for use.
Activating without a connection
You can always activate the tour by phone with one of our operators.
Required Software
Most devices require the one-time installation of third-party player, to be installed on the client's device the first he or she installs one of our tours. Upon activating the tour, Racontours will provide the user with a link to the appropriate download site. These players are all free.
Required Hardware
Please see our list of supported devices.
Downloading
Upon checkout, you will be provided with a link from which to download the tour(s). Depending on your device, the tours range from 20-50MB in size. The reason for this is the use of audio files in the tours, which cannot be compressed any further without loss of quality. With a broadband connection, it still should not take more than a few minutes to download.
Getting Lost
Our tours make it extremely difficult to get lost in the first place. They provide three redundant systems for keeping you on track - precise audio instructions, photos of where you should be and what you should be seeing, and an very detailed, interactive map that allows for panning and zooming. If by chance, you still lose your way, it is very easy to pause the tour and use the map/images to reorient yourself.
Incoming calls
If you are taking one of our tours on your phone and receive an incoming call, the tour will automatically pause until you press "end" to terminate the call.
Sharing the tour
You are welcome to share the tour with whomever you like on your device. By the terms of the End-User Agreement, however, it is prohibited to transfer the software from one device to another without Racontours' written permission.
Transferring to other devices
In order to protect against piracy, our tours are configured to run only on the device on which they were originally installed. Your End-User Agreement licenses the tour to the device, not its owner.
Reinstalling on the same device
Yes you can. Your device's hardware serial number is stored on our database so that you can reinstall the tour on the same device at any time.
Storage Requirements
The average tour is about 25MB's. The installation routine will place the main application in device memory (which requires about 500k), and the bulk of the tour content onto a storage card.
Present and future tours
Please consult our main tour page for a list of current tours. We will adding new ones regularly come Spring of '05. Our plans for this year include Boston, Washington DC, and European Capitals. After that, the sky's the limit.
