I don’t get around much anymore. After moving back to San Francisco from Milan a couple of years ago, most of my jaunts are to and from the Cult of Mac offices in the Mission, which is exactly 3.8 miles from my house. I know the precise distance thanks to Google Maps, which I consult in oracle-like fashion on my computer (and iPhone) since it tends to accurately predict how much misery the trip will involve at any particular time.
At first, determined to take public transportation, I downloaded NextBus, the transit app tasked with telling riders when, you know, the next bus will trundle along to the corner stop. It worked well, until it didn’t (NextBus: 13 minutes. 10 minutes later, it’s 19 minutes. Then it’s 13 minutes again) and the capriciousness of it pushed me into buying a secondhand Vespa. Now I simply calculate whether it’s worth slaloming in traffic or sliding down the less-trafficked hills to get to work.
Starved for adventure, when the chance came to go to Hong Kong, I loaded up my iPhone with paid guidebooks, magazines, maps and a dictionary or two. (When I first hit the States, my phone was a Nokia whose sole killer application – and it was pretty great – were those pre-loaded maps.) I even went a little app-happy, causing my Visa card to trip the “possible fraud” alert due to iTunes purchases.
What did I actually use on the trip? None of the stuff I paid for. Evernote (free version) held all the tips from people about navigating the fragrant harbor — including the address for Shoeman Lau, where I got some beautiful kicks — and every single branch of Din Tai Fung for a daily dumpling fix.
The free, English version of the Metro app is geared towards tourists and proved key for trip planning, maps and general sightseeing. Google Maps helped locate places for restoration during the most strenuous shopping trips. Hootsuite (also the free version) let me communicate with my travel partners when we got separated through direct messages over Twitter. And the free restyled version of the Associated Press app was about all I had time for in terms of reading material.
If you’re like me, you hate buying stuff that you don’t use — and can’t even pass along to someone who might be interested in a Cantonese-English dictionary thanks to those DRM shackles.
In view of the upcoming holidays — and maybe a beach or ski vacation to recover from all that enforced family time? — we sounded out dozens of people who travel extensively for a living to find out what they cannot live with out on their iPhones as they navigate domestic and international trips.
Happy trails!
