iPhone Travel Applications

There are few inventions that rival the iPhone when it comes to revolutionizing the way people organize their lives. Ever since its June 29, 2007 launch date, the iPhone has changed the way people view their phones and for this it was named the "Invention of the Year" by Time magazine.

What we are most interested in are its practical applications: the ability to amplify productivity and increase accessibility to knowledge. And so in today's blog entry we will be going over iPhone travel applications.

To begin, the App Store (where you buy iPhone applications) is relatively new: it first opened July 10, 2008.

The number of available applications on the App Store has grown almost exponentially since its launch. In July of 2008 there were 500 available applications, by September-3000, and by December -10,000. By March 2009 there were 25,000 applications and by June it doubled again to 50,000 applications. Today, a little less than two years since the App Store was launched, over 185,000 applications are available to be downloaded.

185,000 applications: That's a lot. For our clients who have an iPhone, or plan on buying one in the future, we have taken the liberty of doing a bit of screening and have filtered it down to a more manageable size.

The old adage, “You get what you pay for”, doesn't apply to the App Store. All of the apps we have shown are free. The App Store organizes its applications by categories and the sub category we will be looking at today is Travel.

The link below directs you to the home page for Travel Apps.
http://www.apple.com/iphone/apps-for-everything/traveling.html

Hotel Booker
By: cityscouter.com
Cost: Free
Category:Travel

With the cityscouter.com Hotel Booker app you can find and book over 200,000 hotels worldwide. Our app takes offers from some of the biggest hotel providers on the internet including booking.com, Priceline and HRS and displays the best price so you never pay more than you have to while having the widest selection of hotels available.

Urbanspoon
By: Urbanspoon
Cost: Free
Category: Travel

Can't decide where to eat? Urbanspoon can help. Shake your iPhone and the Urbanspoon slot machine will pick a good restaurant for you to try. Keep shaking until you find a restaurant you're happy with.
+ Uses GPS to find a restaurant near you
+ Filter by neighborhood, cuisine, or price
+ Search and browse local restaurants
+ See a list of all nearby eateries
+ Compare restaurant picks with your friends
+ Ratings and reviews from newspapers, bloggers and fellow eaters
Available in most North American cities as well as London, Sydney and Melbourne.

TripCase
By: Sabre Inc.
Cost: Free
Category: Travel

Named the “Best Travel App” by Business week
Flight updates and trip specific messages include flight departure and arrival status, security wait times, baggage claim location, gate changes and co-share information. Get convenient push messages when your flight information changes. Our valuable tools are accessible with one click and include complete itinerary at a glance, and a list of alternate flights (great for when your meeting ends early). Our TripLog allows you to share your trip fun including photos, posts and replies with friends, family and colleagues. Decide and control sharing your trip details in a few easy steps.

Cheap Gas!
By: David J. Henson
Cost: Free
Category: Travel

Features
+Price Timestamps
+ All Grade Prices Displayed
+Sort by Distance or by Price
+Locate stations by device location (default) or by postal code (in Settings)
+Interactively search by Postal Code
+Distance to station displayed
+Ability to refresh stations without restart
+Ability to update grade pricing through GasBuddy.com.

Free Wi-Fi Finder
By: JiWire Inc.
Cost: Free
Category: Travel

JiWire's Global FREE Wi-Fi app uses your iPhone's GPS and network triangulation capabilities to locate free Wi-Fi Internet access. Features:Over 10,000 locations worldwide- "Near me" search based on your current location- Search specific geographic regions- Filter by location type (Cafe, Library, etc..)- Phone numbers and address info- Bookmark your favorite locations

KAYAK Flights
By: kayak.com
Cost: Free
Category: Travel

KAYAK Flights has a succinct description for its app:
KAYAK Flights brings the fast flight search functionality of the KAYAK web site to an app specifically made for iPad.Experience the best flight search in the world, right in your hands.

SitOrSquat: Bathroom Finder
By: Densebrain
Cost: Free
Category: Travel

Quickly find a nearby restroom...and a whole lot more.

Features: * View nearby restrooms on a map or in a list sorted by distance.* See which are open NOW.* Read reviews, rating, and pictures of the toilets before you go!* Learn about additional features: which have changing tables, which are handicap accessibility, which have condom or tampon vending machines. SitOrSquat is the world's first wiki for recording and accessing bathroom information globally. We currently have 65,097 toilets worldwide and we need your help in growing that.

Trapster
By: Trapster.com
Cost: Free
Category: Navigation

Trapster is a free app that alerts you as you approach speed traps, red light and speed cameras, police check points, and other wallet hazards.

Over 5.5 MILLION USERS world wide and submit the location of traps in your area.* Cnet #1 automotive iPhone app* WIRED Magazine #1 of apps that make the most of location*