Written by Teresa Rodriguez Williamson
Friday, 02 July 2010 12:02
You might be surprised to find out what some of the world's top travelers' favorite iPhone apps happen to be. Ironically, many of their apps of choice
have little or nothing to do with actually traveling. And as for the types of apps that have been deemed worthy, all have one thing in common -- an immediate sense of satisfaction and entertainment value.
While Francis
Ford Coppola waits for his Gulfstream to depart from whatever fabulous
destination he is visiting, you might find him tapping away on The Elements, 
his favorite application for the iPhone
and iPad. Since he does fly in a private jet the $9.99 cost of the
application is not an issue to him.
Peter
Greenberg, the icon of travel journalism and travel editor at CBS doesn't even have an iPhone,
but when he gets a chance, you'll find him using the free iPhone application
Shazam. He says, "I
don't even own an iPhone, but whenever I am anywhere with someone who has
one and I hear a song I like, I ask them to use Shazam. Just put the iPhone
up to the music and in seconds it will give you the title and artist. I owe
almost my entire playlist to Shazam."
John DiScala
a.k.a. Johnny Jet, lives on a planes, so it makes sense that his
favorite app has something to do with air travel: "I don't have an iPhone
because their calling plans are not ideal for traveling internationally yet,
but I do have an iPod Touch that I keep handy in my carry-on. My favorite
app is Flight
Aware's Flight Tracker. It's free to download and I can track the
real-time status and even the exact position of flights in the United
States. It's so cool and usually more accurate than the airline's own
website. Other cool features include the aircraft speed, altitude and
weather."
For Josh
Steinitz, founder of NileGuide.com, he couldn't find a travel application
that was to his satisfaction, so he created his own he called "What's Next."
"What's
Next" offers access to top global destinations with in-depth,
personalized, and interactive content in a single application for a whopping
$2.99. Designed for spontaneity, travelers can arrive at a destination, turn
on their device, touch the "Near Me" button, and find recommendations for
nearby activities, restaurants, nightlife, hotels and more. Within seconds,
travelers can refine these recommendations by filtering with preferences
such as "romantic," "business" or "off the beaten path," or by searching
based on activity type such as museums, spas or golf courses."
Then there is Michaelangelo L'Acqua, the
jetsetting Global Music Director of W Hotels; he loves the free iPhone
application Pageonce
Personal Finance. "It syncs up all my airline accounts and hotel stays,
car rentals, cell phone, bank accounts, credit cards, e-mails, music
accounts all in one place."
Gina
Pell, the globetrotting fashionista and founder of Splendora.com, started
one of the first Internet blogs in 1999. She went from writing web content
to creating an iPhone application called Splendora SalesCast, She explains, "This free app is a
must-have for travelers who don't have time to pay attention to member sales
alerts in their inbox. They can shop these private sales at their
convenience and learn about the latest travel deals like 50% off suite rates
at a trendy New York hotel at the touch of a button."
Personally, my favorite iPhone app is UrbanDaddy's Next
Move. It is a free application where you answer a few cheeky questions
about where you want to go, with whom, when, and what kind of mood you are
in. Press "Results" and a host of sexy venues near you pop up with detailed
information and a map.
For those who are looking for iPhone apps that will really help you with
everything from packing to translating, you might want to check out these Top Ten
Winners.
