It's not very Southern of me to love newfangled gadgets and gizmos, but when I moved to San Francisco, I was bitten by the tech bug. First I fell in love with researching travel deals on the Internet. Then, my passion turned to high-tech phone fun.
My iPhone has completely revolutionized how I travel. I'm never far from my email inbox, the Internet, or Google maps. But aside from these standard programs, there are new travel applications--or "apps" in iPhone-speak--popping up every day that make traveling so much easier. Here are my top five travel apps for the iPhone.
#1 Taxi Magic
Imagine never having to lift a finger, or rather, arm again. Taxi Magic takes the guesswork and arm flailing out of hailing a cab. This app uses your iPhone GPS locator to find you, searches for the nearest cab from of a wide variety of private cab companies, contacts the closest cab, and sends it to your doorstep. The entire process is lightning fast and has changed my life forever. Taxi Magic offers its "Magic Booking" technology in 25 major U.S. cities. Did I mention that it's free?
#2 aSleep
When the guy in 45B snores so loudly it rattles your nerves, you have a solution: aSleep. This app offers hundreds of soothing sounds from "Beach with Seagulls" to "Airplane Cabin" to more bizarre options such as "Tennis" and "Scuba breathing." It has saved my sanity more times than I care to admit and has even become a part of my daily life in the office, especially when coworkers are recapping "CSI: Miami Special Crime-Fighting Dolphins Unit" for fifteen minutes straight. This app set me back a few bucks and has proved to be one of my wisest purchases ever.
#3 Currency
When I was in Thailand, I experienced constant shopping befuddlement because the exchange rate was 33 Thai baht to every U.S. dollar. Don't even get me started on trying to convert our Hong Kong dollars into Thai baht. That just made my head hurt. Well, no more, thanks to this nifty free app that converts over 50 currencies with the latest exchange rates.
#4 Multi Dictionary
Fumbling for the right word at a Parisian farmer's market? Keep answering everybody, everywhere in the world with, "Si"? Don't be an ugly American! Be a techno-savvy traveler and download the Multi dictionary app. Though it'll set you back eight bucks, it offers 30,000 translation pairs for English, Spanish, German, French, and Italian. Bellissimo!
#5 Maps and More
My final recommendation is more of a category than a particular app. If you are planning a visit to any kind of national park or manmade attraction, stop by the App Store and search for a map or guide. There are now up-to-date maps for all of the Walt Disney Theme Parks, almost all major ski resorts, and subway systems around the world. Never again will have you to unfold and refold one of those little paper diagrams!
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