NEW YORK, NY.- hopnear announced the updated version of artnear -- the first sophisticated global guide to art for the iphone and Blackberry.

Today art happens everywhere and people travel all over the world to visit galleries, museums and art fairs. artnear is the ultimate mobile tool for those people, who mainly consist of busy collectors and art professionals. artnear lists top art galleries, museums and events workldwide. artnear users can find nearby venues esily thanks to integrated GPS-enabled maps, browse current exhibitions, artists, consult our event calendar, and sometimes even read press releases and view images of the show. artnear pro users can even put their favorite venues into their bookmarks, making it much easier to have a quick glance at what is going on in their favorite galleries.

artnear was conceived as a solution to the time, effort, and frustration involved in organizing gallery visits at home and especially when traveling to other cities. Maps are difficult to navigate, guides can’t always be found, and lists are outdated or are filled with venues that have nothing to do with contemporary art (e.g. antique shops, jewelers, or online galleries with storefronts...) Paper guides do not allow for search by artist, only by gallery; openings, closings, and other events are often outdated.

With modern mobile technology it doesn’t have to be that way -- artnear unlocks the world of contemporary art.

How does artnear work?
artnear has five tabs: Near, Venues, Artists, Calendar, and Bookmarks. Each of these tabs gives the user a different search option.

Near
The integrated GPS technology allows the user to search for nearby venues. The Near tab displays a list or map of the nine closest venues based on the user’s current location. Touching “next 9” displays the next nine closest venues. A filter button allows the user to adjust the radius of the search, to change from miles to kilometers, and to narrow the search by selecting a specific type of venue.

Venues
The Venues tab displays a comprehensive list of venues for any specific city or region. The list view features a small thumbnail and key venue details for museums and galleries, including the current show or exhibition and address.

Selecting any venue opens a venue-detail page, which includes detailed information (such as upcoming shows, openings, lectures), hours of operation, artists represented, and full contact information -- all of which is conveniently one-touch enabled to call or email the venue. The information can also include entry fees and extended hours. A venue filter allows the user to change the region, select specific venue types, and to sort either by name or by location (neighborhood or city).

Selecting a specific show opens a show-detail page that may contain more information on the show, such as complete list of exhibiting artists, a press release, and images of the exhibited art work.

Artists
The Artists tab displays a list of artists that are currently showing or that have upcoming shows in the selected city or region, all marked as “current” or “upcoming” for easy reference. Users will soon be able to browse for artists worldwide. Selecting a specific artist opens a new page with a list of current or upcoming shows, the galleries that represent the artist around the world, and images of art work.

Calendar
The Calendar tab provides a list of events in the selected city or region. Events include openings, closings, lectures, performances, fundraisers, screenings, and more -- all conveniently displayed in a similar manner to the iPhone calendar. Want more detail about the events displayed? Selecting the event reveal images, maps, and more.

Bookmarks
The Bookmark tab allows users to save and organize their favorite galleries
or shows for easy access without having to switch between regions.