25 Mobile Apps for Travel

The past three episodes of Rocketboom Tech have been focused on giving you travel tips-  from websites to gadgets you should bring while traveling and now,  Smartphone/Mobile Applications you can use while you’re on the go!  I’ve listed the apps mentioned in the episode and added a few more that I thought were interesting.  Most of these work on many platforms, but to make sure just check out the link.  

Kayak
Book flights, check hotel prices, track flight status.  Kayak is the do-it-all app for booking travel.  You should at least have this on your phone for last minute emergencies or comparison shopping. 
 
StayHip
A hotel booking app, StayHip finds the “cool” places in town and leaves out the run of the mill motels and hotels.  Use this to find interesting and boutique places to stay. 

TripIt
Organize and keep track of all your travels by simply sending your booking confirmations to TripIt, which will aggregate all the information into time sorted and easy to read format.  You can also connect with friends to see where they’re going and have been!

GateGuru
Know what’s before and after security check-in at the airport.  This will help you to decide if you should eat and purchase supplies before or after going through the hassle of getting frisked.  

Wi-fi Finder
Does just what it says!  Finds you free and pay wi-fi hot spots. 

Instapaper
Archive and read text from your computer (blog posts, emails, etc) right on your phone whether or not you’ve got reception.

Flight Track Pro
Get real time flight status info, weather, radar, track flight paths, etc.  It also works with TripIt to send flight notifications. 

Umbrella Today?
Need an umbrella today?  This simple app gives you the answer of “YES” or “NO”.   Simple enough!

Taxi Magic
Book a cab on your phone.  Working with providers, this shows real-time status and estimated arrival of said cab. 

Waze
View real-time traffic delays, issues with roads, or even police hot spots.  It uses everything from Twitter to your personal input to determine where the worst traffic is located and tells you how to get around the issue.  UPDATE: New features for the iPhone4 have been announced.


Trapster
Need to avoid the police?  This social app marks known speed traps, cameras, and police then alerts you to possible “danger”.

Glympse
Share your real-time GPS location with others.  

Qik
Take live streaming video that is recorded and lives online.  You can make it private, or automatically share videos with your social network.

UStream
Viewer, Broadcaster, and Publisher of Ustream live video.  Your content can be published to any of the major video websites or social networking sites as well.

Auto-Stitch
Create panoramic images.

Sit or Squat
Find the nearest restroom rated on proximity and cleanliness.  

Mint
Manage your bank accounts, credit cards, and budgeting.

Extra Suggestions Not Mentioned in the Episode

OpenTable
Search and make restaurant reservations at some of the best places in any city.

Yelp
Find just about anything, anywhere with reviews from the Yelp community.

Wakeerupper
Their program will call you at a specified time you set.  It can get you out of a bad situation (like a date?) or simply wake you up!

Sticky Bits
Send out your message by affixing a bar code to anything you like.  Think of it as street art!

Pocket First Aid
In a serious health situation and need a fix?  Pocket First Aid walks you through any sort of bad luck and gives you step by step instructions on a cure.

Hop Stop
Get subway and walking directions for most major cities in the world and their tricky transportation systems. 

Way Finder
Don’t want to waste time walking through the NYC and NJ Path subway stations?  Find out which car will allow you to make the fastest and easiest connections to other trains and exits online, or off (since you’ll be traversing underground).  This is a NYCers dream!

Springpad
Need a place to store a reminder while you’re out and about (such as places, websites, books, recipes, ideas)?  This app stores everything in one spot.