What do Apple iPhone apps have to offer Travelers?
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 other interesting iPhone apps visit: iPhoneLife Magazine
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