For instance, type in your airline and flight number (for example, “united 959″) and the first result will give you a link to track the flight BUT it also tells you right away what its current departure time and arrival times are, and whether there are delays.

Feeling hungry but have no idea where to find a restaurant that appeals to you? Type in the type of food you’re craving and the city you’re currently in (“indian, montreal”), and you’ll get a list of what’s around.

Find out other ways to make Google work quickly for you over here, many of which are good for travelers, such as immediately converting money values, finding businesses you’d like to visit, and figuring out what the actual speed limit means if you’re not sure how to convert between miles per hour and kilometers per hour.

Oh, Google! Is there anything you can’t do?

Source: Technology and Strategies // Photo: Flickr

Post from: Geeky Traveller

Metropoliphone is an iPhone application that loads the device up with an enormous collection of subway, bus, and train maps from cities all around the world. The maps are completely free to access, provided by each city’s transportation service.

With Metropoliphone you can get maps for over 60 different cities in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia, mostly in PDF format. New York and Paris also include ferry and bike paths on their maps.

This is a service which will continue to grow over time as more maps get added on a regular basis. The best part (aside from being free) is that while Metropoliphone was originally designed with the iPhone in mind, it can also be accessed by most of the net-accessible mobile devices, including smartphones and handheld gaming devices. And it’s certainly more convenient than carrying around bulky maps!

Get the app over here!

Photo: Flickr

Post from: Geeky Traveller

Have you ever fallen asleep and missed your destination though? If you’re traveling by train or bus, and you’re particularly exhausted, you might end up snoozing right through your stop and wake up 50 miles away from where you meant to be. Oops.

Clearly this is a common problem because you can now get iNap, an iPhone and iPod Touch application (get it here) that will help you avoid this problem. Using Google Maps and GPS, you simply enter the address of your destination. After that, iNap will keep watch for you, just like a friendly travel companion. When it determines you’re getting close to your arrival point, it will set off an alarm to wake you up so that you don’t miss your stop.

I swear, that is brilliant! Where was all this technology when I was traveling on a two-hour bus commute to college starting at 6:30 am every morning?!

(photo – flickr)

Post from: Geeky Traveller

After that, people using Trapster can then get alerts if they’re going to be in that area to let them know about a speed trap lurking in the shadows of an overpass.

Because I’m safety-conscious, I should note that excessive speeding is dangerous and reckless, and you should obey traffic laws. However, it’s not uncommon for people to drive just a little above the speed limit so I can see where this could be a useful application.

Get the app here.

Source: GeekSugar // Photo: Flickr

Post from: Geeky Traveller

You simply enter the date and time you need to be picked up. Then specify your pick-up spot, the destination, and how many passengers there will be. When it searches, it will tell you which services are available to you. For instance, I asked to be piked up at JFK airport in New York City, and dropped off at Times Square. The best deal was the Corporate Sedan by NY One for $59. Two other services would have charged me $73, and the SuperShuttle was unavailable to me as they don’t pick up at that airport.

When you make your selection, you can give specific instructions, such as saying that you’ll be waiting on the South side of the street, and if you’re being picked up at the airport, you can specify what airline and flight you’re on so the service will know if your flight is delayed and (hopefully) wait for you.

The best part is that you can pay with your mobile device at the end of the ride, and receive an e-receipt in exchange, which is handy if you’re traveling on business and need to keep track of your expenses.

The whole thing sounds really cool. I would love to hear from anyone who has actually used RideCharge to get some thoughts on how it plays out in reality.

(Thanks to Mike for the tip! Photo: flickr)

Post from: Geeky Traveller

On the other hand, sometimes it’s fun to have something, not because you really need it and not even because it’s actually useful for travel purposes. Sometimes you just want something because why the heck not?

Take Pig Tones, for instance. Pig Tones, or Politically Incorrect GPS offers you the chance to download different voices for your Garmin or TOMTOM GPS.

Why would you need to do it? Well, no real reason. But it could bring about some amusement while you’re driving around, following directions in a strange city. Instead of listening to the built-in default computerized voice, you could get directions to a tourist attraction from actors, cartoon characters, and singers.

Imagine being directed to the Smithsonian by Stewie Griffin. Let Arnold Schwarzenneger guide you to the CN tower. Or ask Yoda where the heck your hotel is located.

Sure, it’s a little bit silly (“your hotel, on the left it is!”), but travel doesn’t always have to be serious business. Sometimes you want it to be light and fun, and Pig Tones will definitely help you get that while still getting you wherever you need to be.

(source: Red Ferret // photo: flickr)

Post from: Geeky Traveller

Sometimes the driving directions may not make sense for those who are “hoofing” it. By car it might make sense to hop on an expressway or to take a busy street to get somewhere, but the same destination might be more reachable on foot by a different route.

With Google Maps you can also specify that you want walking directions, and you may get a more customized set of instructions that will work out more logically for you. Just for fun to test it out, I put in my home address and a friend’s address across town. I did indeed get different directions with the driving guidelines including a busier route and the walking instructions being more of an “as the crow flies” way of getting there.

Definitely handy for those walking tours of your destination city!

(source: lifehacker.com // image: flickr)

Post from: Geeky Traveller

It’s an international map service but it still has a limited amount of cities, although at least they’re all fairly well distributed around the world. Hopefully more cities will be added in time to cover more destinations.

As an added fun bonus, they also include a few facts at the bottom of the map, such as who is mayor of the city, the population size, language, and even the area code.

(photo: sxc.hu)

Post from: Geeky Traveller

However, there are times when your group of friends will be scattered all over the city – in my case, next year it will be for a wedding. Not everyone will be in the same hotel or house. That makes getting together complicated, because not only do you have to do more planning ahead, you also (hopefully) want to be fair to everyone – if the restaurant is just a restaurant and nothing super special, do you really want one person to have to drive for an hour to meet up with you?

Enter Happy Median, a handy website that helps you find a meeting spot that’s located at least roughly halfway between you and all your friends.

You enter in the address of up to four people and select whether you’re seeking restaurants, fine dining, diners, movie theaters, golf courses, campgrounds, coffee shops, nightlife, or new lodging. You can even specify whether you’re seeking a general area within the same city or a town in between everyone if you’re in different suburbs.

Happy Median will then find the best midway spots where you could meet up with your group of friends.

The site is still in its growing stages and they’re promising exciting new features to come so if you like the service (and really, why wouldn’t you? It’s great for travel AND for at-home use too!), be sure to bookmark it and check back in regularly.

(photo: sxc.hu)

Post from: Geeky Traveller

Not only can you get your basic destination photo views alongside your map to do some sightseeing before you even arrive (which is a great way to figure out what you really want to do and visit if you’re crunched for time), you can get right inside some of the buildings. The site will help you find hotels, restaurants, and hot spots in your upcoming destination.

How cool would that be, to peek inside a bar or restaurant and see if it fits what you’re looking for without having to even walk in the front door? If you’re wandering around your destination anyway, it’s no big deal to pop in to a club or whatnot, only to change your mind, but if you’re going to have to drive out of your way to get somewhere, seeing what it looks like first might be the final deciding factor (not to mention the reviews that are provided as well). After all, sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words.

The site is currently growing, with photographers working hard on providing pictures of major areas of interest in common destination cities so if your city of choice isn’t very full yet, do check back.

(source // photo: sxc.hu)

Post from: Geeky Traveller