What do Apple iPhone apps have to offer Travelers?

Sabrina — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 20:44:48 +0000

The iPhone has opened the door to a world of opportunity not only in the tech world, but also in our personal lives. More and more developers are jumping on board daily to create the most interesting, useful and unique apps for every type of user you can possibly imagine.

From books and music, to travel and weather (and a whole lot more), iPhone apps are appealing to every interest, every daily dilemma and every person.

I could write for hours on how the different categories of iPhone apps benefit users but I want to focus in on the category of Travel.

So, how do iPhone apps help travelers?

From pre-trip planning, to sightseeing and post-trip sharing, there is a vast amount of apps that cover one, some or all of these activities.

Pre-Trip Planning

There are some iPhone travel apps that help you book your flight and then send you your flight itinerary so you have a record on file. Others focus on recommendations for hotels and tourist attractions to visit. Before you even leave for your trip, you can have your entire trip itinerary planned out, day by day, activity by activity. Some travel apps even take into account ones personal travel interests, trip dates and geographical locations to determine the most personalized trip for the user.

Sightseeing

This is obviously the big one. It’s not unusual for a traveler to stop by a bookstore before a trip and pick up a travel guide to take along on a trip. While paperback travel guides are the tried and tested solution for those seeking more info on tourist destinations, they don’t necessarily offer the traveler the most advanced and unique trip experience, nor do they offer much more value beyond some trip recommendations.

For travelers seeking a more heightened experience, they can opt for many different types of iPhone apps.

Types of apps include advanced travel guides that might be user-generated and/or produced by travel pro’s, traveler-generated ratings, reviews and comments for tourist attractions, map functions, directions to and from destinations, sharing features like postcards and updates sent through email and social networks, and even Augmented Reality tools which overlay helpful travel info onto one’s phone, allowing the person to experience and learn a city in a way they have never been able to before.

Users have to be careful though as some apps might require Internet and they could incur roaming fees. This is always important to check out before going ahead and buying the app.

Post-Trip Sharing

After a trip, many travelers like to have a place they can store all their memories. More and more developers are taking into consideration this very important need and are adding a new platform to their apps, the Internet. Developers are creating social network sites where travelers can share their trips, photos, memories, ratings, reviews and more with other travelers and always have a place where they can refer back to their trip and remember the good times they had.

Here are a few travel app recommendations we will leave you with:

FlightTrack - Track all your flights worldwide with zoomable maps and real-time departure info

Wi-Fi Finder - The largest directory of paid and free Wi-Fi Internet access in 140 countries

iLanguage - Quick, accurate and easy two-way translations

The Currency Convertor - Updated currency conversion info for all commonly used currencies

For more on planning a trip with the iPhone, visit mTrip Travel Guides

Image source by Okinawa Steve at http://www.flickr.com/photos/15427016@N02/

The iPad for Business Travelers & Backpackers

Sabrina — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 14:19:05 +0000

The Apple iPad hit the market last week with much anticipation. What does this tablet mean for business travelers and backpackers? Will it replace the laptop for on-the-road computing needs? Here are a few key features to take note.

Size & Shape – The iPad is .5 inches thick, only slightly thicker than the iPhone 3GS, and measures 9.56 x 7.47 inches. It weighs 1.5 pounds without 3G, and 1.6 with 3G.

Camera - There isn’t one. ‘Nough said.

Touch Keyboard - It’s a bit awkward to use with a very large touch screen keyboard.

Battery Life – Ten hours of constant use, with a one-month standby rating.

Email – Similar visual signals as the iPhone but better. You can preview your mailbox from any message with a pull-down menu, and preview any message from within the mailbox, with a pop-up window.

iPhone apps – The iPad is great for apps. Plus any apps you have downloaded to your iPhone can be automatically synced for free to your iPad.

Music – The music player is even more combined and exciting, a mix between the iPhone’s iPod interface and desktop iTunes.

Maps – Very similar conversion and interface from the iPhone but way better. You can view maps from above with high-resolution satellite imagery, up close with street view or with topography in new terrain view. You can also get directions from your current location.

Calendar & Contacts - The calendar app is desktop-like, until you open contacts and calendars, which look a lot like actual contact books and organizers.

iWork – A completely new version designed specifically for iPad. Each application has a great user interface. You can create slides, documents or spreadsheets with ease. Each App also integrates the Media inspector for easy access to photos and music.

Ebooks – Apple has developed an ebook to store for the iPad called iBooks. It greatly resembles iTunes.

So how do the iPad features translate into benefits for business travelers and backpackers?

The business traveler can now travel light, check emails, view contacts and work on docs, presentations and spreadsheets with ease all from the airplane, hotel or on the go. If you are seeking an intermediate mobile device that takes up little space, offers budget priced 3G connectivity, and provides all-day battery life the iPad might be your best option.

The backpack traveler will find some of the iPad features handy such as the maps, which are more interactive and easier to view than on the iPhone. No need to break out the giant paper map anymore! While checking email and IMs from the hostel or hotel is useful is this really a priority for the backpacker? And lets face it – the camera has become an integral part of our travel experience. The fact that iPad doesn’t have a camera could be a deal breaker for the traveler who seeks an all-in-one device.

So what are your thoughts on the iPad? Will it be your next travel tool of choice?

mTrip Blog » Apple