Yesss! Anime Expo 2013 schedule is now available in the Guidebook app!

A few days ago, when I wrote about the availability of the Anime Expo schedules, I did my usual moaning and groaning about how Anime Expo should join the 21st century and start making their schedules available on smartphones and tablets, which more and more of us are carrying around these days — and I don’t mean using that crappy web app they had the past few years. I expressed a wish that I’ve expressed countless times before: wouldn’t it be great if Anime Expo made their schedule available through a well-designed, slick, and very functional mobile app — such as Guidebook? (Disclaimer: we are in no way related to the folks who put out Guidebook. We do not benefit in any way, financial or otherwise, by mentioning them. We just really love their app.)

Well boy did that turn out to be a prophetic statement, because that’s exactly what they just did! (Maybe I should try playing the lotto or something…) Simply download the free Guidebook app, available for iOS (iPhone, iPod touch and iPad) and Android, and using the app’s search feature, search for Anime Expo, and download the guide. That’s it. The guide doesn’t need an internet connection to function, which is great, since (A) phone data connections are pricy; (B) hotel/convention center WiFi (when available) is either pricy or horribly slow (or both); and (C) most convention centers, being ginormous structures made of steel and concrete, tend to eat radio signals for breakfast. However, if you do get connectivity, the guide will automatically check whether an update is available (and they often are), and will update itself. Within the guide you can search through the available programming, including live events, panels, main events and video screenings; check out info on the various Guests of Honor; look through the various exhibitors in the dealers’ room; and much more. Once you’ve found an event you’re interested in, you can add it to your own personal schedule or “to do” list, and can even set an alarm to remind you X minutes before the event starts. This is a really slick app, and as mentioned earlier, it is one of our favorites. So go grab it today! (Remember folks, it’s free.)

By the way pre-reg is still open, and unless you like standing in Xbox huge lines for over 9,000 hours, is highly recommended. And if you STILL haven’t made your hotel reservations (you damn slackers!) then you better hurry – vacancies are still available at the Sheraton LA Downtown and Millennium Biltmore, but they won’t be for long!

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