technology tuesday: pinterest, a (hopefully) soon-to-be app, and a must-visit website

i’m pretty pumped about this week’s technology tuesday.  a dream-come-true, a (hopefully) soon-to-be app, and an extremely helpful website…enjoy!

a snapshot of my work-in-process pinterest maps.

a snapshot of my work-in-process pinterest maps. currently only of the US, but expanding to my international pins soon!

  • pinterest maps – as you may have read on jaunt’s twitter a couple of weeks ago, i’ve been busy mapping jaunt’s pins.  what does this mean, you ask?  well, basically heaven.  over the past year, i’ve pinned so many great sites – both from jaunt posts and also from other pinners.  i try to group them by location, but it can be hard to visualize and find everything quickly.  enter: the pinterest map!  i can now add a location to pins, and they are placed on a map for each board.  mapping existing pins is extremely time-consuming, but i’m hopeful for quick mapping/pinning in the future.  for now, you can check out my US boards (i’ve mapped each state separately), as well as my world board, which will have each pin on it and mapped.  so helpful when planning a trip that crosses borders, goes off the beaten path, etc.  transform those pins into reality, people!
roundtrip app design from the terminal velocity series at fastco design

roundtrip app design from the terminal velocity series at fastco design

  • roundtrip app – my friend, stephanie, shared this app-in-process with me a few weeks ago.  just in theory for now as part of the terminal velocity series from fastco design, it seems similar to the tripit app, which i reviewed here a couple of months ago, with added perks like budget tracking during vacations, alerts to leave your house for the airport based on current traffic situations, and notifications of weather changes to help you pack in advance.  the app is still in the works (at least let’s hope so), but you can check out the proposed design and features here.  cross your fingers that this puppy makes it to market soon – the sleek design is enough for me to download ASAP.
check out seat guru's website or app for the best seat on your flight.

thought you wanted seat 14a? think again – limited reclining and very cold! however, extra legroom! check out seat guru’s website or app for the best seat on your flight.

  • seat guru – now a part of the trip advisor suite, seat guru has been a fan of mine ever since i started traveling for work.  type in your flight number, airline, and plane model, and this website will tell you which seats are best to reserve.  you may think that front-row business class seat is the best for added leg room, but it’s actually across from the restrooms and there is no window in this row.  or perhaps the window seat you originally wanted is in a row that is difficult to exit if your aisle buddy is asleep.  i check seat guru during every reservation now, and would not leave home without it.  though i’ve always visited the website, there is also a free app now.

i love receiving new tips and suggestions for technology tuesday, so please send me any great travel tech advice you’ve come across!  until next time…

technology tuesday: best travel apps

the palazzo maffei in verona, as found via the CityMaps2Go app

the palazzo maffei in verona, as found via the CityMaps2Go app

i never thought i would write about technology with travel, but i enjoyed writing my technology thursday post about favorite travel websites so much, that i just had to continue it.  technology tuesday sounds quite a bit more pleasing to the ear, though, so tuesday it is.

after switching over to the iphone recently (ironically, the new blackberries that i love are not supported by my firm’s ancient email system), i decided to explore a few travel apps for my trip to italy this past week.  after doing a bit of dedicated and diligent research (i googled “best travel apps”), i found three that are ah-mazing and greatly improved my travel experience:

  • tripit – i had heard of this for awhile now (you may have already been using this for years – i’m a little behind the times), and it sounded too good to be true.  the app organizes all of your travel confirmations (e.g hotel, airfare, rental cars, etc.) into one easy-to-read itinerary, complete with all confirmation numbers, departure times, travel agency phone numbers, and more.  it is extremely easy to use, as well: simply email your travel confirmations to the app’s email address, and within 30 seconds your itinerary is uploaded, organized, and ready to go.  a couple of features i really enjoyed included that a) it was free (there is a version you can pay approximately $5 per month for added features, but i found those unnecessary) and b) i could send multiple confirmations for the same trip, and it still organized them together (e.g. i booked my hotel in a separate confirmation, emailed it to tripit, and it seamlessly organized it with my flight and gave me directions from the airport to my hotel.
the easy-to-read itinerary front page, with the more detailed information page. scroll down on both for confirmation numbers, customer service lines, frequent flyer miles, etc.

the easy-to-read itinerary front page, with the more detailed information page. scroll down on both for confirmation numbers, customer service lines, frequent flyer miles, etc.

  • gate guru – this little guy earned major points in my book.  it syncs with your tripit (yes!) and knows from your itinerary which gates/terminals you will be arriving into/departing from.  based on this information (which updates continuously for free, and which is a service that you must pay for on tripit), it lists all the amenities near your particular gate.  if you’ve read my about me page, you know that terminals without mcdonald’s threaten to ruin my airport experience.  gate guru was able to navigate me to the nearest mcdonald’s, airline lounge, atms, restrooms, etc., and gave me the ability to rate and review them, and share them with other users.  it also provides maps of the airport, which came in quite handy trying to navigate the check-in counters in frankfurt.
the gate guru app home page, and more detailed page with amenities in the frankfurt airport

the gate guru app home page, and more detailed page with amenities in the frankfurt airport

  • CityMaps2Go – i tend to shy away from apps that aren’t free, but this one at $2.99 is a complete steal.  i do not have an international phone plan, so when i travel, i’m at the mercy of wifi hot spots or data already saved onto my phone.  CityMaps has maps from all over the world, as well as lists of popular restaurants, tourist attractions, hotels, and more.  further, it syncs with wikipedia to bring you more information on tourist sites.  before my trip to verona, i downloaded the verona map from CityMaps (you only want to download what you need; otherwise they would take up entirely too much room), as well as the wikipedia package for the sites.  i then was able to pin on the maps each of the tourist sites i wanted to see, as well as my hotel, restaurants i had reserved, etc.  when i arrived in verona (without any phone service), i whipped out my phone, grabbed an umbrella (unfortunate day of rain), and jaunted around the cobble-stone streets reading all about the sites without getting lost.  i also tried downloading maplets, a similar app, but found it inferior for international maps.  and since i have phone service in the US, why would I need it for domestic maps?
the downloaded map of verona, pinned with my must-see tourist sites (yellow), my hotel (blue), and a restaurant at which i had reservations (green), along with the wikipedia page for one of the tourist sites (see photo at top of post)

the downloaded map of verona, pinned with my must-see tourist sites (yellow), my hotel (blue), and a restaurant at which i had reservations (green), along with the wikipedia page for one of the tourist sites (see photo at top of post)

do you have any favorite travel apps?  if so, please share!