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Going on a Trip? Cool iPhone applications for the savvy traveler
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Screenshot of Google Earth.
Planning for a trip should be exciting. Savvy planning means a lighter load, and packing light is both environmentally friendly and economical – even more so now that airlines have instituted surcharges for one piece of checked luggage. To help you prepare for a trip and/or avoid those obnoxious fees and the backaches and neck strain from unwieldy suitcases, consider adding the following applications to your iPhone to make the trip easier and the burden lighter.
For the sake of this article, we’ll pretend we are planning a vacation somewhere with opposite seasons. Somewhere warm. Say, Argentina.
1. Google Earth by Google (Free). Released October 25, 2008. This application promises to let you “hold the earth in the palm of your hand.” Those familiar with the desktop version of Google Earth will be excited that its global satellite and aerial imagery can now be explored on the iPhone. Perhaps you want to start by taking a closer look at Buenos Aires. Simply type the city in the search field and soon you will zooming in for a bird’s eye view. The excitement mounts as you zip past the Rio de la Plata and over Palermo, Recoleta, La Boca and other neighborhoods of the city. You can also locate cities, businesses and locations around the world using the local search feature, or view geo-located Wikipedia articles.
2. Lists Free by Mobility Ware (Free). Released November 24, 2008. Make sure that the necessities like that power adapter or skimpy bathing suit are not left behind by creating a packing list with Lists Free. The software allows users to create both lists and sublists with associated descriptions, and check each item off with a satisfying red check mark with just a tap of the finger.
3. Converter by Architechies. (99 cents). Released November 28, 2008. The description promises that it will “help you with the mess of units you encounter in your everyday life. Convert from feet to yards to meters to miles with only a few taps.” Users can convert length, weight, and currency, and avoid the embarrassment of having to do on-the-spot conversions in their heads.
4. MyCurrency by Sandro Stricker ($1.99). Released November 20, 2008. Before you leave for your trip, you may want to look up the current exchange rate between the US Dollar and the Argentine Peso. Select US Dollar on the left hand column, type in $1.00, and select Argentine Peso on the right hand column. As of this writing, $1.00 equaled 3.17 Argentine pesos.
5. Free Translator by Codesign. (Free). Released October 15, 2008. This application provides translation between English and Spanish, along with various other languages. The upside of this software is, of course, that it is free and very simple to use; the downside is that it does not provide a pronunciation guide and might prove a little painful for the person who doesn’t speak a word of Spanish (and those struggling to understand him/her).
6. MyWords – SpanishPod101.com by Innovative Language Learning, LLC. ($9.99). Released November 9, 2008. This application promises to help “rapidly build your vocabulary and perfect your pronunciation.” The pronunciation guide means that this software is particularly helpful for those who have absolutely no previous experience with a language.
7. AccelaStudy Spanish/English by Renkara Media Group. ($14.99). Released November 6, 2008. This application helps user prepare for a trip with flash cards and quizzes. The software also includes a dictionary for translation help during the trip.
8. iNote by Nexar Software ($3.99). Released November 26, 2008. iNote allows users to write notes in landscape, then categorize them in folders and subfolders. A perfect little application to records your thoughts and observations about the Obelisk on Avenida Nueve de Julio, the Recoleta Cemetery, or that fabulous tango performance that had you swooning.
9. Absolutely Trivial – World Geography ($4.99). Released November 23, 2008. Bone up on your world geography and kill a little time on the flight by playing this trivia game.
10. Koi Pond by The Blimp Pilots (99 cents). Released July 25, 2008. A long trip can be taxing. Users can gaze serenely at the koi floating through the pond while listening to the twitter of birds overhead, and occasionally tap at the water to watch the fish dart away. Note: If you keep tapping, the fish will stay clear of you and your jet-lagged, bleary-eyed self.
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