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Field Trip, Google’s “tour-guide” app, adds ScoutMob to serve local, location-based deals

Francis Bea
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field trip scoutmob

Remember Field Trip, the mobile location-based pocket-sized digital “tour-guide” built out Google’s Niantic Labs? The app temporarily made a splash back in September but the app is back now this time hand-in-hand with Scoutmob to push deals to your mobile phone wherever you go. 

To refresh your memory, Field Trip was a standalone app that pushes notifications to your phone in the form of informational cards based on your location. If you’re walking down the streets of New York City, the app displays details that shed light on landmarks, places to eat, or venues to check out for a night out in the city.

The app is chock full of next generation features that put social ambient apps like Highlight and Sonar to shame. For instance, it can recognize that you’re riding in a car, and stagger notifications accordingly. Google has the future in mind, and its vice president of product John Hanke explained that Field Trip was the precursor to the augmented reality experience that just might be a part of our lives in the near future. Don’t forget about Google Glasses, which Field Trip is obviously set up for.

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Field Trip foundationally works based on where are its users are in real-time and alerts them with relevant information from sources including Zagat, Thrillist, Arcadia, and even Songkick for nearby events or music performances. Scoutmob likewise is a location-aware app, but instead of being merely informational the app specializes in pushing deals to its users.

But to make it clear, Scoutmob isn’t Field Trip’s only deal provider. “Deals” was a feature that launched alongside the app in September. However the selection to choose from was limited since the providers were just Google Offers and Vayable. Google Offers offers deals from across the board from restaurants to shops, and Vayable concentrates on excursions or anything that has to do with travel, but Scoutmob, by nature is a local deals service. By itself, the app picks up Google Offers’ slack by offering a robust slate of offerings from local restaurant deals, things to do around the area, and even locally-made goods.

As we reported earlier, the app is still only available for Android phones as of today but Niantic Labs is getting closer to releasing the iOS version.

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