Among my friends, I'm known as a restaurant referral service for the San Francisco Bay Area. It comes from many years of living in the city by the Bay as well as a healthy appetite for good food. If you need to find a place to eat, just tell me what kind of food you're in the mood for, how much cash you feel like dropping, and I'll search through my memory banks and find an eatery or two that's to your liking.

You may know someone in your own circle of friends who can do the same, but if you don't, don't lose heart. You aren't doomed to dining at sub-standard eating establishments. There are tons electronic city guides that have been popping up of late. Many are available on the Web, others are available for download to your PDA. Some require wireless access, others, like Vindigo, simply update the content that lives on your device when hot sync-ed.

At this year's DemoMobile conference, Scout Electromedia introduced a stand-alone city guide device, the modo. It's a wireless gadget that's a bit on the bulkier side when compared to most pagers, but Scout can still comfortably claim that it's pocket-sized. Well-known design firm, IDEO, is responsible for modo's curvy and palm-friendly design. A convenient rocker button makes navigation simple and intuitive, and a rubber cover protects the screen. Modo operates on Motorola's Flex wireless network. While the device is capable of two-way reception, it currently only receives information and does not send back data to the network.

One advantage of using modo, over say, me, is that you'll have access to much more information than just the hottest, hippest restaurant. Main areas include: Dailies, which offers updates pertinent to that day; Favorites, the equivalent of bookmarks; and Coordinates, where the bulk of the information will reside. Coordinates is the place to head for information on food and drink, arts and entertainment, and shopping, among others. You can also browse by area or neighborhood, which is handy for people who are new to a city.

Modo is currently available for New York. San Francisco and Los Angeles will be added to that list shortly, with other cities expected to follow.

We were pleasantly surprised to learn that the modo will cost $99 and that there would be no monthly service fee. This cheap price begs the question, how on Earth is the company going to make any money? (As Jim pointed out, providing this much content and doing it well is no easy or cheap feat.) Advertising is the answer, of course. At the bottom of the screen, a small banner touts a product. If you're interested in learning more, tap on the banner and the ad will increase to full screen. Intriguing idea. You can bet when the San Francisco version becomes available, we'll get our hands on one.

Company: Scout Electromedia
Phone: 415.896.0950