The Journey(s) of Ian

Travel is made easier with technology. Here, I am listing the iphone apps I use regularly for travel purposes. Google Maps The granddaddy of apps. Universally useful. Gmap is an excellent resource: roads, routes, facilities, and an optional satellite view, are all shown well. There are two ways of accessing Gmaps. The first is through the ios Maps app. This is fast, but limited in functionality. The second is to use the web app from Google. This provides additional functionality, but access is slower. ICOON A clever idea. This app consists of a series of stick figure pictures of various subjects, grouped by category. So, for example, if you don't know the local lingo you can call up the "restaurant" pic and show it to the natives. It could be improved with the ability to be able to add your own pics. Dropbox A cloud service. Great for storing files and info. Free 2gb, extra space free if your friends accept your invites and sign up. Iphone and desktop. Diction...

(disclaimer: I did post a similar version of this onto the apple applesauce forum) Ok, my review of the iphone 3g (after one week I am now an expert). Let me start by saying that I like it. The iphone is a good phone. I have not had any problems. It is easy to use. I did not need to read the manuals. I like it. I am happy. I am content (relatively, for the moment). By way of background I have lusted after an iphone since S. Jobs announced the original 2 years ago. However, living in Australia, and with the original iphone not allowing apps (ok, it did allow web apps, but I mean real apps, (ok, it had jailbroken apps, but I wanted real apps)), I decided that the purchase was just not worth the trouble. When the new model came out I decided that this was the way to go. The new model had a GPS, could handle the 3g network, and it had real apps. Cool. Since I travel a fair bit I decided that tying myself into an expensive Australian network was not the way to go. Via ebay, via a fr...