iPhone Apps I use for Travel

Marlene,

Thanks for posting that. I've also got several app's on my IPod Touch that are also very useful during travels, including:

• Dial Codes (phone dialing info to/from various countries)

• Weather (have home location and several European cities configured)

• fX Change (currency exchange information)

• London Tube

• Paris Metro

• Wordroll Italian

• Wordroll French

• Rick's Orsay tour (I got that when it was free - will add others later)

When selecting app's, I find it's important to choose those that work well in "standalone" mode, as access to the net is only available when I have Wi-Fi access.

I wasn't aware that Docs To Go was available for the IPhone yet (I knew they were working on it though). That's a great product, I have that on my Palm PDA as well.

Just curious, do you leave the data part of your IPhone active when you're in Europe?

You can also get TomTom or Navigon now for data free navigation. Might be worthy, but the apps are pricey (around $100).

Sweetness - thanks! I am new to the Iphone and quite frankly the Apps store is a little overwhelming. I was wondering what useful tools it might have on it for travel.

99% of the time data roaming is turned off during int'l travel. The only time it's on, which is very briefly, is when I need to catch my flight connection to view my flight info. I've lucked out on hopping on other people's network :) when I'm out and about. The hotels I stay at, often has free wi-fi. And ya...I agree, DocsToGo is a great app and one of my favs.

I posted it earlier already: "Fahrplan" is a free app that finds every public transport connection within Germany, from metro busses and trams all the way to high-speed trains from Munich to Hamburg etc.

I posted it earlier already: "Fahrplan" is a free app that finds every public transport connection within Germany, from metro busses and trams all the way to high-speed trains from Munich to Hamburg etc.

The standard iPhone apps can be quite handy as well:

• I use the Calendar app to store my daily itinerary, including flight details, hotel address, phone# & confirmation #s, etc. Just enter it beforehand using Outlook on your computer, then sync it to the phone.

• I add all the cities on my itinerary to the "Weather" app. I like to do this a few weeks in advance and check it every few days, so I have a good sense of the weather there before I pack.

• You can add Rick's free audio tours into the Music app. And if you search "Rick Steves Europe" on iTunes, you'll also find dozens of free video clips from his TV series that can be loaded onto your iPhone.

• You can use the "Stocks" app to keep an eye on the curerncy markets. For example, to get the currently traded Euro exchange rates, enter the stock symbols "USDEUR=X" and/or "EURUSD=X", depending on which direction you're converting. Of course, this is the market rate, not necessarily the rate you'll get, but it's a good indicator.

Some of these apps (Stocks, Weather) use the Internet, so once you're abroad you should probably look for WiFi to avoid the roaming charges.

Has anyone used a translation ap?

I am especially interested in one that would help me with the menus in France. (Sorry, but Ricks 10 words just don't cut it :) )

Oxford Translation French Phrase Book Free...the paid verison too ($4.99). There is audio, so you can hear the pronounciation of the words and sentences. Though, the free version has a really "small supply" of phrases/vocabulary

Thanks Marlene. $4.99's not too bad!

Ken (or anyone else who may know the answer) -- you said you have DocsToGo on your Palm. I have lots and lots of travel info on my Palm in "Memos" -- would I be able to switch this info to DocsToGo on my iTouch? I usually travel with the Palm with all the memos, and the iTouch for wifi and emailing, etc. I would love not having to take both with me, but I haven't figured out how to move all the data from the Palm to the iTouch.

wikipedia--offline access to millions of records. great for looking up more info after visiting tourist spots. a pain to initially download, but well worth it.

iConvert--currency, length, weight, volume, temp. etc. conversions to various measurements. i bought this mainly for the currency but used it more for the other measurements. very easy to use.

kindle app for iTouch--bought books and RS London guide to read on trip

mSecure--encrypted app to keep my important info like bank account #s, ins policy #s, in case of emergency but if the iPod is lost or stolen they can't retrieve it without the password.

WifiTrak--picks up more free hotspots than the built-in settings and automatically connects.

free games--great for long plane, bus, train rides.

Janice,

I haven't used Docs To Go on the IPod Touch yet, but it appears to operate a bit differently than on the Palm platform. Rather than syncing via a Cradle and wired connection to a PC, the IPod version requires a Wi-Fi link and download of a companion Desktop application. I was pleased to see this is available both in Mac and PC versions (I use a Mac, so can't use any Outlook app's though).

Using the Palm Desktop, you could probably "Cut & Paste" each Memo into separate Word doc's on the IPod. I don't know of any way to transfer Memos from a Palm to an IPod, except by manually entering each one. AFAIK, Doc's To Go will not access Memo files on an IPod.

I'll probably have to continue packing along both a Palm and IPod on future trips, as some of the app's that I use (most notably Quicken and Datebook) are not available in IPod versions, nor is the capability to use "Bookchips" (SD Cards) with language courses (these could of course be loaded as an audio file, but I don't believe the Pimsleur I/II/III courses are available on ITunes?).

I've found most IPod app's work well and the ones I'm using haven't "crashed" on me yet. However in some ways the IPod software developers still haven't achieved "The Zen of Palm".

Cheers!

I posted this elsewhere but to piggyback on Louis's handy iPod apps---

screen shot--save photos of web pages to your photo site for view offline. While viewing a web page during a wifi connection, click the "hold" (top of iPod) and "home" (round one on front) buttons simultaneously. they're housed in a folder called "saved photos." great for storing maps and directions for later view.

Awesome tip Susan!

Skype app is now available for Canada! Woohoo

ZugInfo is my favorite. It's a user-friendly interface with the Deutsche Bahn website and has train schedules that cover all of Europe (although the disclaimer says it only works for Germany). I found it to be accurate for every country I visited. You can save connections to view off-line later. It's free, but I liked it so much I bought the pay version.

DB Navigator and SBB Mobile are now up - both official German and Swiss rail apps!