News Byte

Gilt City Acquires Dine Private to Add Reservations Engine

Gilt City, which focuses on offering daily discounts at high-end spas and restaurants, has acquired fine-dining booking engine DinePrivate.com. The company, which lets consumers choose from more than 90 private dining rooms in New York City, was co-founded by Joe Bastianich and Jeff Zalaznick. Bastianich, who is the son of TV celebrity Italian chef Lidia Bastianich, will join Gilt City as a private dining and restaurant advisor. Additional cities will come to the site in 2012.

Gogobot CEO Travis Katz Talks About Beta Launch of Social Travel Site

Last week, BoomTown sat down with former Myspace exec Travis Katz to talk about the private beta launch of his new start-up, Gogobot. No, it’s not a robot from Google–it’s a social travel site, which uses friends to enhance the travel-planning experience. Essentially, it feels like Facebook for trips, but with really good images.

IPhone 4 Blowout in China

The iPhone 4 has sold out in China, just four days after its market debut. China Unicom, Apple’s carrier partner in the country, said today that it’s sold about 100,000 iPhone 4s and has another 100,000 on back order.

A New Search Engine Specializing in Fun

Goby.com aims to take the guesswork out of finding leisure activities.

iPhone 3G S Sales Forecast: Half a Million Sold This Weekend

How many iPhone 3G S handsets will Apple sell this weekend? The answer: 500,000, according to Piper Jaffray’s Gene Munster, who says early sales will be slower than those of the 3G thanks to a dramatic change in value proposition and a launch limited to eight countries.
500kiphone

Two Ways to Keep Track of Your Travel Plans

Two new Web sites — a virtual schedule assistant and a travel social-networking site — help make your trip reservations more useful and accessible.