TATE MODERN
What’s on offer? A touchscreen multimedia PDA handset is available for the permanent collection with a choice of tours.
Content? Varied and fun — the interactive games work really well. 5/5 Easy to use? A bit fiddly to navigate and the touchscreen is easy to press by mistake. 2/5
Price? £2 — subsidised by Tate’s sponsor, Bloomberg, the tours are very affordable considering how advanced they are. 5/5
Total 12/15
V&A
What’s on offer? An audio trail of the Modernism exhibition on an Antenna Explorer handset with random access points.
Content? Clear and interesting — the commentary and music from the period really bring the exhibition to life. 5/5
Easy to use? Very — offers directions to the next object and if you get lost you can press Pause or Rewind. 5/5
Price? £3.50 — the detailed commentary justifies the cost. 4/5
Total 14/15
BRITISH MUSEUM
What’s on offer? A choice of four random access audio tours for the main collections on Antenna Explorer handsets.
Content? Historical context and factual information is brought to life with atmospheric music and related readings. 4/5
Easy to use? The random access facility allows visitors to listen to commentaries in any order, but it can be difficult to navigate. 3/5
Price? £3.50 — the navigation is not brilliantly designed, but the content is of a high quality. 3/5
Total 10/15
Advertisement
NATIONAL GALLERY
What’s on offer? A choice of random access audio tours for the main collection on Antenna Explorer handsets.
Content? Very informative but a little unimaginative — the facts could be brightened up with some atmospheric content. 3/5
Easy to use? Some of the paintings can be tricky to find, especially if they have been moved and the tour has not been updated. 3/5
Price? £3, though the old- fashioned system doesn’t really warrant it. 2/5 Total 8/15