Smartphone ‘Apps’ for smart travellers

June 17, 2013

We tend to think about mobile phone technology as a very new thing – even though the first mobile phone was made in 1926, it’s only in the last two decades that they’ve become portable and affordable enough to gain mainstream acceptance. And it’s been even less time – only the past ten years or so – that smartphones, which allow you to use your phone as a computer as well as make calls – have become widespread.

In that time, though, they’ve become incredibly popular, largely due to their ability to hold ‘apps’ – small, basic computer applications that let you turn your phone into a small, personal computer you can keep with you at all times. Apps have become very popular – Apple estimates there are 800 downloaded worldwide every second of every day! One of the groups that have especially taken to using apps are travellers – when you’re on the road, the convenience of being able to take one with you instead of a laptop can be a huge deal, and one that lets you stay connected to the information highway. To maximize the enjoyment of your international internship or edutourism program with ICS, here are some handy apps to have on your smartphone:

    1. Instagram for mobile photo editing – Let’s face it, when you’re travelling, you’re going to be taking a lot of pictures. It’s easy to do so, too, because your phone likely has a camera built into it. It’s probably not the most advanced camera in the world – not compared to the expensive SLR digital cameras the pros use – but it’s enough to take basic pictures as mementos and souvenirs. Sometimes, though, you want to spice those photos up by adding filters, cropping, or editing them. At home or at work, you’d likely use a program like Photoshop for this, but on the go that’s really not an option. That’s where Instagram comes in – it allows for quick, basic editing on the go to help you remember your trip just the way you want. As an added bonus, Instagram even lets you upload your photos from the app to share with friends.

 

    1. Location-aware applications – You might not realize this, but your phone has a GPS (Global Positioning System) sensor built into it. At first that might seem like it’s not a big deal – most of the time when you have your phone with you, you have a general idea of where you are.  What you don’t always have, though, is a good idea of what’s around you – the restaurants, banks, social services, and other places that are useful to know. And while you can often talk to people in the location to ask about those things, that’s not always an easy option due to language and cultural barriers. This is where apps like Aroundmeapp.com come into play – they use your phone’s GPS to look at where you are, and find what you’re looking for in your neighbourhood.

 

    1. Wi-Finders to stay connected anywhere – One of the benefits to using cellphones while travelling is that you have pretty consistent access to the information on the internet. However, there are no doubt going to be places you go that don’t have 4G access, or if they do it’s going to be cost-prohibitive to use it. That’s where a wi-finder – an app that lets you scan the area around you and detect available wi-fi signals. There are a lot of apps like this out there, with Jiwire (http://www.jiwire.com/iphone) being an example of a popular one. It’s become common for a lot of businesses to offer free wi-fi to people in an effort to entice them into the business, and when you’re on the move and really need access to your email or a website, they can feel like lifesavers.

 

    1. Mobile Social Media applications – We’ve discussed previously how social media websites, such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter can be essential tools for travellers to use to keep in touch with friends and family at home, as well as for finding out about things that are happening in the countries that you’re visiting. What you might not be aware of, however, is that those sites have mobile versions, as well, that are perfect for your smartphone. They can combine with your phone’s calendar, contact list, and even its GPS to add more power to your social media use. Check the websites of your favourite social media websites for more information on their available apps.

 

  1. Instant language translation applications – One of the biggest concerns that many travellers have is being able to be understood while they are travelling. Some people overcome this by studying the language before travelling, but let’s be honest; for most people that’s not an option, due to the time and effort it takes to become fluent. So what most people did, in the past, was use guidebooks that would have a list of handy phrases in English as well as the target language. These were not exactly ideal – they were slow, and awkward to use, especially if you had several expressions you wanted to chain together into a larger phrase. This is an area where smartphones are definitely a step up. Users can download apps like Jibbigo, which allow them to speak into their phone’s microphone. The app then immediately translates what the person’s said into the language of their choosing, and plays it as an audio file. This allows people to not only play the file back to others, but then to also have the person you’re conversing with respond into the phone’s microphone to have their response translated back into your native language. It’s not a perfect system – computer translations have been known to be imperfect from time to time – but in a pinch it’s a great way to communicate. Jibbigo is available for a free download at   http://www.jibbigo.com
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