

Whatever you do, don’t panic! A new mobile app is coming out soon that almost every geek will want to download immediately. Yes, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy will finally fulfill its destiny, and actually produce a Guide for you to take with you wherever you go. And, not only is it fully supported by the estate of Douglas Adams, but it features the voice of none other than the original Arthur Dent himself: Simon Jones.

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Like many geeks my age, I grew up with the Hitchhiker’s books and TV show, and the radio programs a bit later when they came out on LP — remember those? I must have read at least the first two books at least 20 times each when I was a kid, and can still replay the theme music in my head (yes, I know it’s an Eagles tune, but that’s not how it’s cataloged in my mind). So when I got an e-mail about the mobile-app project (no firm release date yet), I leapt at the chance to cover it. And when I was offered the chance to interview Simon Jones, I could barely wait.

Jones, for those who don’t know, was the original Arthur Dent. He was Arthur on the radio shows, which predate the books. He’s the one Douglas Adams said he had had in mind when he created the character in the first place. So, my apologies to Martin Freeman — who did a great job as Arthur in the movie, and whom I (incidentally) can’t wait to see as Bilbo.

But there really is no other perspective on it: Simon Jones will always be Arthur Dent, in the same way that Leonard Nimoy will always be Spock … only more so.

The Hitchhiker’s mobile app will, essentially, be your own copy of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy — the device from the stories, not the stories themselves.

I mean, you can pull up Wikipedia on your smartphone, but will it tell you about the Babel Fish or the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal? Well, OK, of course it will, because it’s largely written by geeks. But will it tell you about them with cartoons on a soothing green background and tell you about them aloud in Simon Jones’s voice? I think not.

The app will be all about the Hitchhiker’s universe, as though you really were using the Guide. Like the Star Trek PADD app that came out recently for iOS, the Hitchhiker’s app will be somewhat interactive, but will not go so far as to be a game. That’s despite the fact that the company that’s producing it, Hothead Games, is (as its name would subtly suggest) primarily a maker of games.

We can report a GeekDad-exclusive item of information: The Hitchhiker’s app will be coming out for all iOS devices. As Jones said when I spoke with him, this only makes sense, as Douglas Adams was one of the first, if not the first, in Britain to own an Apple computer. I would be surprised if Hothead didn’t port the app to Android devices if it’s popular on the iTunes App Store, but if it has plans to do so, I’m not aware of them.

I’ll report back with the release date when I have it.

For now, enjoy the screenshots, and listen to my conversation with Simon Jones, which has been posted to the GeekDads podcast feed for your convenience. If you’re a Hitchhiker’s fan — and if you’ve read this far, I expect you are — you should listen. Not only does he sound exactly the same now as he did when he played Arthur Dent (which brought back memories for me), but he and I talked about some very fun stuff that you probably don’t know about yet, and not just about the app.

He was an absolute delight to talk to, just as friendly and funny as any interviewer could possibly hope for.

You can subscribe to the podcast in iTunes.

You can subscribe directly with this RSS feed.

You can download or listen to Simon Jones.mp3.

Scroll down for more screenshots from the app. And check out the official app website (Warning: Autoplays a brief audio clip.)

Screenshots: Courtesy Hothead Games

Photo of Simon Jones: Courtesy Simon Jones