Traveling Techies

Earlier this week our friends at Tripping posted a question on their Facebook page "what's your favorite travel app?". Some responded with standards like Google Earth, Orbitz and Yelp, however, there were some cool mobile apps that weren't mentioned that I love, as well as some I wasn't too familiar with. I did a little research and came up with my top 3 mobile travel apps that will enhance any traveler's trip:

HopStop-This nifty little app is a "green" travelers dream. It maps major transit systems and walking paths for cities in the US, Canada, Europe and Russia (adding more destinations everyday). Hop Stop has its origins in NYC, which if you plan to visit, download this app, it will make getting around much easier, but has since been able to provide detailed directions for most major cities whether you're walking, taking a train, cab, biking, or skateboarding. The app provides users with train times, transit alerts, fares and distance maps. Needless to say Hop Stop will absolutely get you where you're going!

Foodspotting-I love apps like Yelp and Zagat, but most times I don't have the time nor care to read a full review of an eatery. Foodspotting takes the new tradition of taking pictures of your food, and encourages users to rate the pics and give a brief shoutout about their favorite dish. Its quick, simple, and to the point. Eating is a visual experience, so it only makes sense to see your next meal before you eat it! The app is influenced by other location based mobile applications like Foursquare and SCVNGR because it allows users to follow friends, celebrities, gain points and win badges for submiting scrumptious uploads. After using the app for a few months now, it's definitely a keeper and gets frequent use when I'm on the go!

Tour Wrist-This was one of the mobile apps that was mentioned in Tripping's post that I wasn't familiar with, but the commenter was so adamant about how great it was, so I had to check it out. Tour Wrist allows users to pick a place of interest anywhere in the world, and supplies them with a complete 360 virtual or a panoramic tour of said location. You can tour anything from a street corner, coffeeshop, museum, art gallery, you name it! Users can add their own tours, and even sell their pictures of exotic locations. The only drawback is that the app is only available for Apple products, but you can always browse the site to upload and take tours.

Next time you're on a Tripping adventure, download one (or all) of these apps, you definitely won't be disappointed.

What's a Phone Call?

I realized today that something is very wrong with my friends and I; something very odd indeed. I realized that the best way to talk to anyone I know is NOT on the telephone, which is pretty odd because we are the last generation to remember what it's like to have a landline. I grew up in the olden times where you didn't have to memorize area codes, and there was such a thing as being charged for long distance, and you were considered "cool" if you had your own cordless phone.

These days everyone I know has a smart phone, not so much a phone, but a pocket sized computer that you sometimes use to call people (mainly used in emergencies, or to call nagging family members). Personally, have an aversion to talking on the phone simply because for most of my day its not convenient and I can multitask while texting. Then there's the issue of getting a good signal and risking a dropped call. Am I the only one that thinks its strange that you can have half of one bar on your phone but still manage to send a text AND  check-in to Foursquare, but not be able to connect to a call?
I wonder if kids still talk on the phone to their boyfriends and girlfriends, or if its all about sexting. I don't know when it happened but I haven't used my phone as a phone (for lesuire) in a while. As I get older I wonder if this will change, but for now I'll continue to make the most of my unlimited texts.