While some have raised spam-related concerns about the product, as far as we can tell, it basically operates like other third-party email marketing products. Customers won’t be getting surprise spam from TripAdvisor.com. They’ll be getting emails from hotels they’ve stayed at, which they’ve agreed to get emails about (even if it’s TripAdvisor doing the actual sending behind the scenes). The emails just come with encouragement for guests to leave reviews on TripAdvisor.

The video shows the basic process:

Review Express lets businesses add their own logos and personalized messages, and includes the ability to bulk upload up to 1,000 email addresses. It also processes send requests within 24 hours, and provides automatic notification of successful and unsuccessful sends. It can send messages in 21 languages.

“With Review Express, TripAdvisor aims to extend the relationship between businesses and their guests to encourage them to write reviews. This is a time-saver for owners, providing them with a powerful system to manage multiple emails and requests at no cost to the business,” said Severine Philardeau, vice president of global partnerships, TripAdvisor. “Review Express has been developed and enhanced based on extensive user testing and is an invaluable service for hospitality business owners looking to build their online reputation. When used in conjunction with our free display offerings for owners, Review Express provides a great online marketing package for small and independent hospitality business owners to capture the value of user reviews for their property.”

Businesses will want to follow the best practices TripAdvisor has laid out.

Of course Expedia and TripAdvisor have plenty in common. As a matter of fact, until about a year ago, the two operated as one company, until Expedia announced they were separating.

Both companies are members of FairSearch.org, a group of Google competitors, who aim to stop Google in the areas the group deem anti-competitive. In an email this week, a spokesperson for FairSearch told WebProNews, “FairSearch advocates for enforcement of existing antitrust and consumer protection laws, not new regulation, a position the coalition has consistently expressed since its creation in October 2010.”

As far as the complaint goes, according to Bloomberg, it’s basically the same as the Expedia one: “anti-competitive and unfair practices by Google that harm the marketplace and consumer welfare”.

This all follows a letter recently sent by the European Consumers’ Organisation to Joaquin Almunia, who is leading an EU antitrust investigation of Google. The letter expressed similar sentiments to those expressed in the complaints from TripAdvisor and Expedia.

Almunia will reportedly not make a decision on how to proceed until after Easter.

The decision was based off of a Nielsen research study,”U.S. Advertising Spend and Effectiveness,” which found that recommendations from “personal acquaintances was cited as the most trusted form of advertisement by U.S. Internet consumers (76%). Forty-nine percent said they trusted consumer opinions posted online.” This makes a lot of sense. If you know that you like a lot of the same things as your bingo buddy Sally, then you are more likely to purchase the same Sandals resort package in Jamaica that she did versus what some stranger suggests.

TripAdvisor launched its Trip Friends product in June 2010. The places that a user’s friends and associates have been is highlighted on the Cities I’ve Visited Facebook app. They can also see this information on the FB Timeline. People can also view hotels that their FB friends have rated on TripAdvisor and they are listed first in the company’s hotel rankings section. This was made possible through the travel site’s continued integration with Facebook.

Adam Medros, vice president of global product for TripAdvisor stated in a recent press release that “we are excited that 100 million travelers have had a personalized experienced on TripAdvisor, making TripAdvisor the world’s best site to plan a trip using the wisdom of your friends.” He went on to explain that “providing travelers with a social trip planning experience will continue to be a strategic focus at TripAdvisor, and we look forward to having even more travelers see their friends’ travel recommendations on TripAdvisor.”

Previous rumors have set that mark at a 2048×1536 resolution.

According to sources quoted at CNET, Apple is aiming high and shooting for that resolution for the iPad 3. The problem is that the display manufacturers aren’t sure if they can produce that type of display at such a high volume required by Apple.

For Apple, a “retina display” is a display with a pixel density high enough to overcome the human eye’s ability to see individual pixels. That’s 326 pixels per inch (PPI) on the iPhone 4S, whose 3.5 inch screen packs a 960×640 resolution.

You won’t get that type of density on the iPad 3, even if you get the 2048×1536 resolution. But you’ll get a PPI of 264, which is double the amount you currently find on the iPad 2. It will still meet the “retina display ” requirements.

That is, if it can be done.

Here’s what the source had to say:

They have production plans for 2,048×1,536 displays. Starting in November. But those are only plans at this point.

It’s not a question of making just one. That, of course, can be done. The challenge is making lots of them. This is a quantum leap in pixel density. This hasn’t been done before.

Those November production plans fall in line with other rumors we’ve heard about Apple starting an early run before the end of 2011. This timeframe suggests that the iPad 3 could be hitting the shelves as early as Q1 of 2012.

In the statement, TripAdvisor is quick to reassure people that no passwords were stolen, and since they do not take members’ credit card numbers, this breach doesn’t involve financial information.  They do warn, however, that some members might be getting some spam in the coming weeks.  They don’t go into any specific details about the attack, as they are still investigating.

From the statement:

What is TripAdvisor doing about this?
While we’re still investigating the details, we’ve identified the vulnerability, shut it down and are vigorously pursuing the matter with law enforcement. We are also are implementing additional security precautions to help prevent another incident in the future.

If you belong to TripAdvisor and are concerned your inbox might be getting a little spammy soon, they provide basic tips for avoiding spam such as activating your spam filter and deleting odd emails with misspellings and “alarmist messages.”

So if you believe you might be affected, be sure not to open
“zOMG FREE TriP 2 SPAIN BEZT EVER!!!!#@@!” when you get it.

In the email sent to registered members, CEO Steve Kaufer writes,

“The reason we are going directly to you with this news is that we think it’s the right thing to do.  As a TripAdvisor member, I would want to know.  Unfortunately, this sort of data theft is becoming more common across many industries, and we take it extremely seriously.”

The new feature allows users to take a virtual tour to travel destinations with local places superimposed over Google’s Street View. Users can view hotels, restaurants and other attractions.

"With virtual tours on the TripAdvisor iPad app, we’ve made the experience even more engaging and helpful for travelers," said Mike Putnam, Director of Mobile Product for TripAdvisor.

"For travelers who have ever booked a hotel or restaurant and arrived only to be disappointed by the neighborhood, this feature brings a whole new way to gain insights into their destination. Now travelers can get the full picture in advance.”

The TripAdvisor iPad app is available for free in the Apple App Store in 18 languages and 26 countries.

The new feature allows users to view feedback on airline experiences from other fliers and offer their own airline ratings.

When users do a flight search on TripAdvisor Flights, they can view and compare ratings for different airlines by clicking on the carrier name and seeing what percentage of fliers would recommend the airline to others.

TripAdvisor has also introduced a Fees Estimator that helps people know the complete cost of a flight, including fees for checked bags, in-flight entertainment and onboard meals and drinks, in their flight search results.

“With the launch of airline ratings, the millions of travelers who use TripAdvisor Flights every month will now be able to get useful feedback on how airlines stack up against each other in terms of fees, value for the money, service, punctuality, baggage handling and a number of other factors to help ensure they have the best flight possible,”said Bryan Saltzburg, general manager of TripAdvisor Flights.

If a user is logged into Facebook, they can see friends’ reviews and access a map showing places where friends have visited, as well as a list of their most popular destinations. 

"For example, when you’re researching a location, hotel or restaurant, you’ll see friends’ reviews first, so you can make better vacation decisions," explains Facebook’s Tiffany Chang Black. "And if you need some inspiration, the new personalized TripAdvisor home page will now show a world map with all the places friends have said they’ve been using TripAdvisor’s Cities I’ve Visited app. Don’t just look through your friends’ vacation photos on Facebook; get tips from them and go on your own adventure."

"TripAdvisor is a new instant personalization partner and becomes customized for you by using your public information and list of friends from Facebook to show you friends’ reviews and other content you might find interesting," she adds.

Back in June, TripAdvisor introduced a "Trip Friends" feature, which allowed users to get advice from their Facebook friends when planning their vacations. The new instant personalization would appear to be an extension of this existing integration. 

When researching a destination, hotel, attraction or restaurant on TripAdvisor, users who have logged in using Facebook will now see a list of friends who have been to that location, via TripAdvisor Cities I’ve Visited (CIV) application on Facebook.

Users will be able to directly message their friends, or post a message to group of friends, to get travel information. TripAdvisor says CIV has been one of the most popular applications on Facebook for almost three years, and it has more than five million monthly users.

"Facebook has always provided people with an easy way to connect with friends around the world, whether from Internet cafes or through sharing photos," said Ethan Beard, director of Facebook Developer Network.

"By integrating with Facebook, TripAdvisor is enhancing the exchange of trusted referrals, travel do’s and don’ts, and good stories from abroad, and making the travel experience more relevant and social to each person who interacts with the site."
 

The free applications allow users to search for popular hotels, restaurants, attractions and cheap airfares. The application is available in 13 languages, giving users a localized experience on TripAdvisor.

"Our iPhone app gives people in 20 countries and 13 languages a new way to access the more than 35 million traveler reviews and opinions available on TripAdvisor," said Steve Kaufer, founder and CEO of TripAdvisor.

"Now, travelers can find a great hotel, restaurant or attraction and book a cheap flight whether they’re at home or on the go."

The new TripAdvisor iPhone application replaces Local Picks in the App Store. The app uses the iPhone’s GPS technology to allow users to search for nearby hotels, restaurants and attractions. Users can search by rating, distance and price. Users can also send in reviews while they are traveling.

Additionally, travelers can use TripAdvisor Flights, the sites flight search engine, to find cheap airfares using their iPhone.