Robert Lewis Stevenson wrote, “For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.” In the spirit of travel, here are 5 Android apps for globetrotting that can help you “go.”
Best 5 Android Apps for Globetrotting
Navigon
Google Maps may suffice for most users, but if you’re willing to dole out a little cash, Navigon is an alternative app that includes several useful and fun features not found on Google’s default maps app. Take the reality scanner. Using augmented reality technology, this feature superimposes places of interest on your phone’s live camera screen. Other features include emergency assistance, route planning, lane choice assistance, as well as a 2-D or 3-D display. Navigon has everything a traveler could want in a GPS device.
Yelp
The perfect app for a stranger in a strange land, Yelp is perhaps the single most indispensable app on this list for any traveler. Say you’re driving through a small town on your journey to see everything Americana. How do you know where to eat? What hotel to check into? Where can you get the best deals? Just launch Yelp. It can help you find nearby restaurants, stores and other businesses as well as provide user reviews. Augmented reality technology even allows Yelp to display the location of search results on your phone’s live camera.
Google Goggles
Here’s another app that ambitiously takes advantage of augmented reality technology. Google Goggles allows users to essentially search the web using an image. Simply launch the app, point your phone’s camera at any point of interest and Goggle will do a web search to serve up pertinent information. It’s an especially useful tool for wanderers on road trips.
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FlightTrack
Here’s an app for travelers who’ll be taking to the skies.
The New York Times calls FlightTrack “brilliant” – and it’s easy to see why. Flight tracking applications are abundant in the Android Market, but FlightTrack stands apart. This app offers users a ton of information without overwhelming the user interface, which is clean and simple. Each flight lists arrival and departure times (to and from the gate), as well as takeoff and landing times. Additionally, information about delays and even aircraft type is also available. Upon takeoff, Flight Track displays interesting facts like speed of travel and flight altitude.
The pro version of the app bundles additional features such as weather, Triplt integration and push notifications.
Spotify
Travel is all about adventure. It’s about getting away from the familiar and mundane, and embracing the unknown. For those who can’t go anywhere without their music, Spotify can introduce a bit of serendipity. This streaming music app allows users to build their own radio stations from a 16-m catalog, save any new favorites so you can listen to them at a later time and share them with friends. But most interestingly, Spotify’s recommendation engine will keep track of your listening trends and then recommend new music based on the habits of listeners with similar taste. On your next trip, you can forget rummaging through your music collection, trying to build playlists for the road. Simply launch Spotify and let it take you where it may.
About the Author
Sam Spector is a freelance writer and novelist living in Brooklyn, New York.
Wow, love the blog! As an avid traveler I use most of these, and I absolutely love Google Goggles. This is such an amazing step forward in interactive technology, and I think this will transition into their Google Glass project, as well. As an app it totally changes the game for travelers, but as a technology in and of itself. When paired with something like the Google Glass hardware, I think it very well could change, or at least begin to change, the way we interact with the world around us. Another app I use a ton when I travel is this remote access app I picked up through my job at Dish. It lets me pull live or recorded shows off my receiver at home and watch anywhere in the world I get signal. It’s perfect for layovers and long flights, and for jetlag, too.
Hi Adeline, thanks for introducing with such great apps. Now I am going to give them a try………..