Leave Your Laptop at Home

These supercool and inexpensive mobile apps let your phone do double duty on the road

Lugging a laptop and searching endlessly for a Wi-Fi hot spot (not to mention paying an arm and a leg for Internet connectivity) could be a thing of the past for the savvy traveler. As cell phones become more powerful, so does the software that allows them to be more complex and useful.

Whether you have an iPhone, a BlackBerry, or just a basic smartphone, there are tons of apps (many for free) that can turn your cell into indispensible, multitasking travel companion.



iPhone
Those who own an iPhone already know how handy it is when you're on the go. But you can also use it let friends know when you're coming to town with Facebook for the iPhone (free, go.pcmag.com/facebookiphone). And check your flight before you get to the airport with FlightTrack ($4.99) or FlightStatus ($4.99). If you want to find a good restaurant, hotel, or tavern, download Zagat To Go '09 ($9.99). And Cheap Gas! (free) will help you save money by doing just what it says (finding the lowest gas prices in the area you're traveling through).

BlackBerry
Fortunately for BlackBerry users, there's a onestop app for travelers called World Mate Live (free). With this powerful tool, you can create itineraries, use the hotel booking service, check the weather, see if your Hight is on time, and use the Connections feature to find people at your destination. Poynt (free) is a handy yellow pages for finding local businesses, and Where (free) is a great resource for exploring a city. It lists restaurants, nightlife spots, tickets, people, cheap gas, and more—and even helps you get there with turn-by-turn directions.
And speaking of getting there hassle-free TeleNav GPS Navigator (free 30-day trial, $9.99 a month thereafter) will make sure you never get lost with turn-by-turn onscreen and voice driving directions.








Windows Mobile
Having trouble keeping all your paperwork organized when you travel? Use Evernote (free) for Windows Mobile to tag and organize important travel information online, as well as write notes to yourself. Metro (free) is a must-have for traveling to urban areas, because it gives you public transportation schedules for bus, train, subway, and more for most of the world's major cities. If you're stuck in the airport on a long layover, try Pocket Live TV 1.0 ($19.99), which lets you watch TV from the U.S., Canada, Europe, and more.
—Erik Rhey

PC Magazine February 2009

This article is published on More Techs, More of IT, and More IT News.