Online restaurant guide www.eating-OUT.co.za is marking its first anniversary with plans to launch a WAP interface to the site and roll-out Internet kiosks.
Ric Hutton, co-founder and shareholder of the holding company, Eating Out Web Services, says the site has shown remarkable growth in the first year since its launch.
"Growth has exceeded our wildest expectations," he says. "We have been receiving over 30 000 hits a day, with more than 43% of them coming from overseas. Our daily hits are increasing by around 25% a month."
Ken Nelson, Eating-OUT`s technical manager and a shareholder, says the service has several innovations in the pipeline that will make use of mobile computing and Internet kiosks to benefit both diners and restaurants.
"We expect to have a WAP interface to the site up and running early this year. This will allow you to step off a plane and see, for example, the local Italian restaurants," he says. "We expect that with the release of GPRS on the cell networks this year, WAP will become a lot more attractive to network subscribers."
Nelson declined to provide detailed information on the planned Internet kiosks, as he says partners will be involved in such a project.
Cape Town-based Eating-OUT is a site providing restaurant listings around the country, with the database searchable according to criteria such as food type and area. The site also includes photographs and editorial on each restaurant, menus with prices, maps and directions. The company also has a Johannesburg office, and services most of SA from these offices. It currently has over 1 000 restaurants listed on the site and aims to have 90% of the country`s best-known restaurants in its guide.
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