Smart phones are here to stay. Apple announced last week that it sold 7.4 million iPhones in the preceding three months, more than double the number of computers. And Research In Motion sold even more BlackBerrys, 8.3 million during the same period.
A lot of those phones are going to business travellers who realize their phones are smart enough to replace their laptops on the road. And what's making them smart is the apps.
To find the best apps for travel, RoadWork asked three experts – Matt Buchanan of tech website Gizmodo, RIM vice-president Tyler Lessard, and Bruce Poon Tip, founder and chief executive officer of GAP Adventures, who has given talks on travel and technology to Google and Apple.
WorldMate Live (BlackBerry and iPhone: free)
The industry standard for business travel planning: Both RIM vice-president Tyler Lessard and Gizmodo contributing editor Matt Buchanan recommend it. It has been around for several years, but recent upgrades have kept it on top. Forward your itinerary to WorldMate and it will update and sync everything for you. It will map your destinations, suggest hotels that fit your price and star-rating criteria, send you reminders through the day of your appointments, and find friends and colleagues close by. If you upgrade to Gold ($11.95 (U.S.) a month or $99.95 a year), you can add real-time flight-status updates and book alternative flights on any of 350 airlines to get you where you're going faster. It'll even tell you if there's been a gate change. (On a related note, last summer Air Canada launched its own app, on both platforms, to help with booking and managing its flights.) www.worldmate.com
iTranslate (iPhone: free)
“I travel to a lot of foreign countries,” says GAP Adventures' Poon Tip, “so iTranslate is a big one for me. I can type in words and get the gist of a sign.” The app will also help you figure out what that dish is on a menu. It can handle 42 languages, including Finnish, Slovak and Tagalog, as well as Chinese, both simplified and traditional. As close as we've come yet to a universal translator for the road. www.sonicomobile.com/itranslate.html
Where (BlackBerry and iPhone: free)
Buchanan likes Where to help him around once he has landed somewhere new. It uses digital compasses and an onboard GPS to dish up restaurant reviews, get into the Yellow Pages, and even find out where gas is cheapest, providing instant maps and directions. appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/916
Pocket Sherpa (iPhone: free)
Buchanan is also enthusiastic about a very different app. Pocket Sherpa puts you directly in touch with local guides. If you're in town for a meeting and want to know where the cool kids hang out, it will connect you by e-mail to a local cool kid. It will also link you to local newspapers, Twitter posts and databases for local services. It includes info for 25,000 destinations and local experts in 7,000 of them. One caution: Pocket Sherpa offers to set you up in person with these guides, each with their own local service, and no guarantees are made about how reliable or how safe these people are. So, caveat emptor. www.localyte.com
Currency (iPhone: free)
Though travelling through Europe is less confusing than it once was, and the current close relationship between U.S. and Canadian dollars makes pricing simpler, anyone who travels broadly will find use for this app. “It's great for when you're about to be ripped off in a craft market in South America or Morocco,” Poon Tip says. It will instantly convert prices into a familiar currency. “You realize you are indeed paying $15 for a coffee in Norway,” he says, “and that isn't a joke.” www.currencyapp.com
SportsTap (iPhone: free)
“I like a lot of North American sports, and I don't get my scores when I'm in Asia or Europe,” Poon Tip says. “I guess if I became a soccer fan, I wouldn't need that, but for football and basketball I need this app.” It also lets you follow hockey, baseball, U.S. college sports, golf, tennis and various motor sports. If you've got a BlackBerry, the closest thing out there seems to be getting ESPN alerts sent to your device. sportstap.mobi
HRS Hotel Organizer (BlackBerry: free)
Produced by the Hotel Reservation Service, this app connects you to 230,000 hotels worldwide. Lessard likes that it actually lets you book hotels, and operates on GPS, so it can find you hotels close to where you are. “In scenarios where I haven't prepared as well as I should have and didn't have a hotel, the ability to get that done in real time was quite compelling,” he says. iPhone has chain-specific apps, which may work better for people on points plans or corporate accounts, but nothing global yet. hrs.com
My Gate Maps (iPhone: $2.99)
If your travels often take you through unfamiliar airports, Buchanan recommends My Gate Maps, which allows you to map your way from one gate to another so you don't have to waste time asking staff or running down dead ends. It also maps out where the concessions are. “It's not the Awesome Place to Eat in the Airport app,” Buchanan says, referring to its lack of a review database (for that, Poon Tip suggests Urbanspoon). But for travellers in a rush, it helps to know which way to run. appshopper.com/travel/my-gate-maps
Special to The Globe and Mail
Do you have feedback or business travel questions? E-mail roadwork@globeandmail.com.
Follow Road Work on Twitter @BertArcher.
