Change the way you travel by downloading these travel apps onto your smart phone for your next trip.
Google Maps
An app so commonplace and ubiquitous that we might not think of it as a ‘travel app’, Google Maps has fundamentally changed the way we travel. No matter where you are in the world, you won’t be lost, and you will no longer have trouble finding any address you are looking for. On a phone with GPS capabilities, you can immediately see where you are, and uncover restaurants, hotels and places of interest in your vicinity.
Available free on iPhone, Android, Blackberry, Nokia and Windows Mobile at www.google.com/mobile/maps.
Google Translate
This app improves daily as Google adds more and more accurate translations, and has some amazing functionality. Type in or simply speak a phrase into the phone’s microphone, choose one of more than 50 languages, and immediately see a written translation, or play it out loud. Never before has purchasing a Nutella sandwich in a Beijing hutong been so easy.
Available free on any device (go to translate.google.com/m) and on Android devices on market.android.com.
Trip Advisor
The leading user review site on the internet is available as an easy-to-use mobile app as well. Browsing millions of real travellers’ reviews and opinions of hotels, restaurants and attractions is the best opportunity you have for ensuring that you get the most out of these kinds of travel experiences.
Available free on iPhone, Android, Nokia, Windows Mobile and Palm on www.tripadvisor.com/MobileApps.
TripIt
The TripIt website allows you to create in-depth travel itineraries that you can access from anywhere via the mobile app. Pull in flight and hotel bookings, maps, photos and recommendations, save your itinerary, share it and use it to make your trip smoother and better organised.
Available free on iPhone, Android, Blackberry and Windows Mobile on www.tripit.com.
Trip Journal
Google’s Number 1 awarded travel app, Trip Journal helps you record and share your trip with friends and family in real time, and for posterity. You can easily add photos, videos, blog posts and geographic waypoints to your ‘journal’, automatically tag everything with the location, and integrate with Google Maps/Earth, and services like Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and YouTube.
Available on iPhone for $2.99 and Android for R29.99 from www.trip-journal.com.
