If you didn’t think the iPhone is the ultimate travel tool, this article fr
om The New York Times discusses both current and future applications available to make traveling less stressful, more efficient and fun. As they say, a personal concierge in your pocket, available 24×7. I would call the iPhone and its travel apps the 2009 travel gadget of the year — hands down. Read on for more.
Itineraries – Travel Apps Turn Smartphones Into Personal Concierges – NYTimes.com.
This
is necessarily a list of only travel apps for the iPhone, but it’s got some great ones for tracking flights, finding gas (US only), making drinks (not recommended when driving), cooking Xmas dinner (ditto) and creating an Xmas iTunes playlist. Read and enjoy — you can plan a trip then plan a party during your flight with this combo of apps. Thanks to Mashable.
10 iPhone Apps to Help You Survive the Holidays.
Jaunted, the Pop Culture Travel Guide, has published a list of North American air carriers that offer in-flight WiFi. It offers details about availability, pricing, etc. Hopefully we’ll be able to post a global list at some point, but in the meantime, if you are traveling in North America, this is a great cheat-sheet. Enjoy!
In-Flight WiFi Status Update 2009/2010 || Jaunted.
Following up on a previous TTDaily post about in-flight wi-fi (which mainly is available in the US and on flights over land), Lufthansa has announced it will bring back in-flight broadband service in the first half of 2010, thanks to Panasonic of Japan’s satellite-based service. The airline said it will outfit half its long-haul jet fleet for the service (which allows for inflight access via a wi-fi enabled laptop or a GSM/GPRS powered phone) by mid-2011. Fees are TBD but will be billed via either credit card or via mobile subscriber billing. This announcement bodes well for international travelers, as Lufthansa, Singapore Air and others had to cancel their in-flight service when Boeing’s Connexion service shut down in 2006. Hopefully the Panasonic system, called exConnect will catch on with other international carriers and will bring trans-oceanic broadband access back in the next year or two. More from the NY Times @ Lufthansa Will Offer Internet on Most Long Flights – NYTimes.com.
Even though laptop battery life is improving, and most laptops now offer 4-5 hours of continuous use, there are plenty of situations where that just isn’t enough. Rather than getting the blues because you’re not able to finish that report, or watch the end of the movie, an external battery can extend your work- or play-time no matter where you are – in planes, at conferences, while outdoors or transiting busy airports. powergorilla by powertraveller is a portable external battery that provides between 2-5 additional hours of power for mobile warriors. Weighing in at about 22 ounces, it’s not extremely light but it pumps out a broad range of power levels up to 24 volts, allowing it to power even the most energy hungry laptops as well as smaller mobile devices. It even powers Macbooks (via a magsafe adapter purchased separately).
The powergorilla comes with a neoprene case, a wide range of tips for laptops and mobile devices and a usb charging outlet (for things like iPods and iPhones). For travelers who use less power-hungry netbooks when traveling, powertraveller has come up with the minigorilla, a smaller device that puts out less voltage (max 19V) but also charges mobile devices like its big brother. the powergorilla sells for $289.89 at Amazon; the minigorilla is 99 pounds and available on the powergorilla web site.
This article by The New York Times’ Frugal Traveler contains a wealth of tips to save money on international calls while traveling. TTD has covered some of these in the past, but this article discusses several new WiFi enabled solutions similar to Skype (my choice for the best, cost-effective solution for international calling) that work from your wifi-connected PC or wifi-enabled phone. The post also shares information on international multi-country sim cards (Go-Sim was covered in a previous post here) and other tools for those who want to talk a lot but pay a little. Click here to read the article.
Whether you’re in Singapore, Stockholm or Seattle, people expect to be able to reach you, virtually 24/7. The only escape (and one I cherished) was on a flight – especially a long one like the 17 ½ hour nonstop from Singapore to Newark. I loved not having access to my phone or Wi-Fi – for the first few hours, that is.
Not surprising, as virtually everyone now uses either Wi-Fi or their mobile service to do everything from answering client emails, to booking restaurants, to checking flight departure times to looking at pictures your friend posted on Facebook. While being accessible all the time is great for productivity, it’s a double-edged sword.
Continue reading ’surrender (your down time): wi-fi at 35,000 feet is coming’
Now, I normally wouldn’t be telling guys who like gadgets to go with their instincts on Valentine’s Day. Probably the worst move you could make on this romantic occasion is to go the electronics route. Safer to stick to roses or chocolate, or a nice romantic dinner. Champagne. Strawberries. A ride in Central Park. But if your significant other is trend conscious, travels a lot and likes to stay connected on the go, there is one exception to the no-gadgets-on-Valentine’s-Day rule: the HP Mini Vivienne Tam Edition. (Note, I and my company work for HP, so it’s very likely I’m biased). It’s not only small and lightweight with decent battery life and built-in WiFi (the keys to successful travel technology), it also looks stylish and hip enough that she’ll be happy to pull it out at the airport lounge.
I’m a recent convert to the iPhone, and am very glad I finally made the switch. I’ve been playing in the App store for the past few weeks, and there are a slew of great applications for frequent travelers. Here is a short and sweet list of my 10 favorite iPhone apps for travel — in alphabetical order for objectivity.
Continue reading ‘on the road again: top 10 travel apps for iPhone’
