- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007
Comments (23)
Print
Save/ShareRight now, my mind is in a very appy place. As a traveler, I find myself turning to my iPhone as a tool every chance I get. I use it for weather forecasting, mapping, translating, converting, finding restaurant recs, tweeting, and much much more. And I'm remarkably willing to pay (a little bit here, a little bit there) for useful, clever, or just plain fun apps.
a) What travel apps do you currently use?
b) What sort of tool would you love to hold in your hand on your next trip? (Don't hold yourself back! Dream big!)
c) Are there any apps you've been using that you find disappointing?
Thanks in advance for your comments…
User reviews and comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions.
Please don't forget that the Android market is dramatically increasing every day. Please include us in your app development as well.
Posted By Irene on April 29, 2010, 10:20 PM
Well, I am worried about using my iPhone overseas and the charges it might rack up, but I love it for traveling in the US. Mapping where we are and helping us find where we're going is amazing. Also, choosing restaurants in strange places (Urban Spoon). But the basic pleasures, like listening to my own music on a crowded train and reading a book in the dark (Stanza) make traveling a pleasure. Also taking pictures and sharing them with others.
Posted By Patty on April 30, 2010, 6:40 AM
It seems as if every time I'm in an airport it gets worse: Everyone is looking down at their device. I think the best apps are the ones that give live information based on GPS - tolls, traffic, nearby restaurants with useful info based on personal preferences such as cost, dress code, appropriate for children, bar service, hours. Foursquare/Urbanspoon- like without the gaming/social aspect. I would also like to see an app that tracks your movement for documenting a trip that you can feel comfortable isn't being shared with the entire world - kind of like high tech journaling - no gimmicks and you only share with people you choose. The only two apps I use are google maps and weather bug. I've tried a few, but many seem more trouble than they are worth! But maybe that's because I have a Blackberry.
Posted By Margo on May 1, 2010, 9:42 AM
I would like an map app that "speaks" directions so that I can take my eyes off the phone and see the road/sights while driving/walking.
Posted By Nancy on May 1, 2010, 11:39 AM
I live in Chiba, Japan. I work in Tokyo. I saw some travelers in Tokyo with iPhone. Anyhow if you could find wifi, you can use it easily. So you need the Wifi finder on your iPhone. It should be all right.
Everything is expensive for living in Tokyo. So before leaving for Tokyo, Japan, you need research what you want.
Posted By akinori on May 2, 2010, 3:55 AM
Margo - you read my mind. I'm getting ready for a trip to Europe this summer, and I'm loading up my iPhone. So far, here are my favorites for itinerary planning, on-trip logistics, and communication:
What's Next by NileGuide — The equivalent of 200 professionally written guidebooks, in the palm of your hand, eliminating the need to buy one-off destination guides from Lonely Planet for $10 apiece. Plan itineraries in advance or get recommendations on the go, based on your personally set preferences like ‘night life’ or ‘off the beaten path.’ Get directions for how to get there based on your current location. Cost: $2.99.
HopStop — Forget spending a fortune on a taxi. HopStop provides detailed, easy-to-follow public transit directions to get you anywhere you need to go in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, Washington D.C., London or Paris. Cost: free
goPostal — This app lets you create and send your own personalized postcards using pictures you took on your iPhone. Cost: free, plus $1.29 per postcard sent.
World Nomads — Twenty-five languages, dozens of basic travel phrases. This app will help knock-down the language barrier faced when traveling abroad. Languages include Arabic, Dutch, French, German, Japanese, Turkish and many more. Cost: Most languages are available for free, but a select few are $1.99.
Skype — For international travel, there is no better way. With just a Wi-Fi connection, Skype gives you free calls to any other Skype number. No more payphones or international calling rates. Cost: Free.
Wi-Fi Finder — Tracks over 200,000 hotspots in 135 countries. You may have to dig to find the best free connections, but it sure beats those outrageous international data rates. Cost: Free.
Posted By Kurt Foeller on May 2, 2010, 3:02 PM
I wish all travel companies that issue luggage tags
to their travelers, would code the address (of the
traveler) and not include it on the tag for the
world to see. If luggage is lost - airports
should be able to check the company code and figure
out where it should go - if lost.
Travelers should have an intinerary inside their
luggage - we can't lock our luggage.
Posted By Carolynn Tiebout on May 3, 2010, 12:14 PM
In August, we will be taking our first overseas trip to Eastern Europe. What I'd like to see as an app is one that I'm able to take a picture of street sign and have the app translate it and show me on its map the location. (Since the Cryllic alpahbet is used there). And to enhance that, give me directions to the location that I've programmed into it.
It would also be an idea to have "social customs" of the various countries, so that you know what to do and don't do as you visit all these wonderful places.
Posted By Carolyn on May 3, 2010, 12:23 PM
I would like to see an app that utilizes GPS, then brings up history of location, website if applicable, near by places of interest, local restaurants, hotels, gas, public transportation, language translation, etc - everything you would need in one app. Not sure if something like this exists now.
Posted By Karen T. on May 3, 2010, 3:32 PM
1. I would love a simple budgeting app made specifically for travel. I would want to be able to enter amounts budgeted for categories such as airfare, hotel, meals, rental car, gas, etc. and I would like to be able to subtract money from each category as it is spent, with the app keeping track of these spendings, and be able to see instantly how much is left. I would also like a place to enter deposits that were prepaid and then I would like to be able to see how much I budgeted for the whole trip and compare it to the actual costs.
2. I would like to see a travel troubleshooter app that I can refer to for advice in the event of a problem. I would like it to include: what to do and what to expect if my flight is delayed causing me to miss a connecting flight, what compensation I can expect from each airline in the event I am bumped, phone numbers for the airlines for those times you advise to call while waiting in line in hopes of being helped faster, what to do if I crash your rental car, What to expect (or to ask for) when my hotel has overbooked and moves me to a different hotel, what to do if I get off the cruise ship in a port but don't make it back to the boat in time and it leaves without me, what to do if I lose my passport, etc. Maybe it could provide a place for me to attach a scanned copy of my passport and to enter the phone numbers of my credit card companies in case my wallet is lost or stolen.
Posted By Kim on May 3, 2010, 5:03 PM
I would like to see an app that lets me put "pushpins" in a globe on all the cities and or countries I have visitied. It would be great to have a visual respresentation of my travels.
Posted By Tracy on May 3, 2010, 9:13 PM
Apps I use:
money exchange
city guides
App I would love:
I travel with my kids so I would love an App that told me the top things to do with kids in the major cities like Bangkok, Rio, Rome, NYC etc..
Posted By Cristiana Jurgensen on May 3, 2010, 11:58 PM
A) Apps I love and currently use:
1. Skype: Even with an iPod Touch (which I have), you can communicate with the world.
2. iTimeZone: Absolutely the best world clock, but also allows you to know times in the future in different time zones. If your colleague in Tokyo proposes a meeting at 6 PM on Wednesday (local Japan time), it allows you to figure out what time it will be in your or any other time zone. All of the other world clocks just give the current time.
3. Urbanspoon and Zagat, although Urbanspoon is useful in more locations. It would be nice to be able to still be able to access some restaurants found and saved while having a wireless signal.
4. TripIt: It saves your itinerary and confirmation numbers when off-line!
5. World Nomad.coms language apps that actually translate, pronounce, and show spelling. A great way to practice! I have Arabic and Japanese, but would love to see more languages and expanded vocabularies. Still, they are very neat!
B) Apps I would like to have:
1. Airport maps with detailed gates AND accurate location of shops and dining
2. Location of airport gyms or gyms very close to the airport
3. A weather app that saves the forecasts I have just looked up, so I can access that info off-line.
4. An app that shows 3-letter codes of all airports and let's you type in the city and get the 3-letter code.
C) Disappointing apps:
1. My Gates: useless and not worth the money!
2. OffMaps: Allows you to save portions of Google Maps for use off-line. Great idea!! Very poor execution and not very user-friendly. Oh and after downloading only a few maps, now I have to pay to download more!!! They never told me that when I purchased it. Come on!
C)
Posted By Passion2Travel on May 4, 2010, 12:57 AM
Prior to leaving for Greece last summer my husband called Sprint to be assured that my Palm Centro would work in Europe and assured we were only when we got there it did not work. I did not miss it, but would have liked the security of knowing I had a phone that worked in Europe.
For our next trip we are fantasizing about a European motorcycle adventure. So it should come as no surprise that a GPS for Europe would be my dream come true.
Posted By Nancy on May 4, 2010, 8:38 AM
It would be nice to have an app that would allow me to take a picture of some place I am, upload it and it would tell me where I am, what I am seeing and what's close that shouldn't be missed.
Posted By Mark on May 6, 2010, 9:20 AM
A Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives Ap for the US? OR an ap for foodies that is like a game perhaps, to pit one restaurant against the other, like Food Wars. For overseas...a VolcanoWatch ap!
Posted By Emily Majeski on May 8, 2010, 11:21 AM
Any app that doesn't require 3G or a wifi connection.
When I'm in Europe, my data roaming is OFF. So if the info isn't loaded into the app, it's mostly useless for me when I'm walking around. And I don't want to spend my precious vacation time searching for a (free) wifi location.
One app that I'd love to see is a comprehensive menu de-coder in several languages. Budget Travel has some great ones on it's site ... any way we can turn those into free apps (hint, hint)?
Posted By joan on May 13, 2010, 4:05 PM
When the Icelandic Volcanic Ash Problem was really bad, Lonely Planet put some of their city guide apps on itunes for free! So, I scored the apps for Istanbul, Paris, and Vancouver for free, and they're actually pretty useful.
When I travel, I rely on tripit's application. It helps me know what I'm doing on a certain day, and I can always change an activity.
I also have an app for the Tokyo Metro Map that shows me all the JR routes in Tokyo! You can magnify it and move to different parts of the map. There's also another app that you can pay a little bit of money for that gives you the Train Maps for many different cities!
I have an iTouch, so I just choose hostels that have wifi and let me use their code when I'm there.
Posted By kumiko m on May 13, 2010, 11:49 PM
Flight Tracker Pro. This is an expensive App, but if you fly a lot- get it!! Load all your flight itineraries and forget about it. it will sound the alarm for gate changes, flight delays or any changes.
Posted By Kaari on May 14, 2010, 6:30 PM
It's not an app, but Vodomodo.com has some neat stuff for travelers. You get historic video tours and a listing of what's nearby.
Posted By David on May 18, 2010, 12:34 AM
In addition to the apps already mentioned, I use the following travel apps on my iPhone:
MetrO - public transit directions around the world
OffMaps - take your maps with you, accessible without a data connection
My Maps - view the Google maps you've personalized.
Layar - See what's around you in augmented reality
TripCase, TripIt - two apps that let you e-mail your itineraries, then keep track of your trip for you (plane delays, gate changes and more)
ATM Hunter - for when you need extra cash
FREE Wi-Fi - find free wifi hotspots (this is a list, not a wifi sniffer)
Currency - for currency conversions
Don't be afraid to use your iPhone in a different country. Turn on "airplane mode" and then turn the wifi back on. You won't incur any horrible data charges.
Posted By Joleta on May 20, 2010, 2:36 PM
Apps I use: DC subway map on a recent trip....worked great
Currency converter, Frommers APP(very helpful),
opentable, Birding app
What I would like is a comprehensive city app, say I was going to italy, like the App around me it would pop up with all kinds of things(frommers recc of course for sightseeing , hotel, dining etc. And then when you connect to a certain site a pod cast pops up that you don't have to search for separately.
Posted By db on May 23, 2010, 1:18 AM
In search of app-y travelers - This Just In - Travel Blog - just great!
Posted By worldclock on February 7, 2012, 8:01 PM