Despite the recent abundance of cloudy days on the east coast, it is officially summer. For many of us that means vacation. As you pack the family car and head out in search of sunnier skies don’t forget your iPhone because a few new apps are here to help the summer traveler at every step of their journey.
The aSmart HUD+Speedcams app by Atoll Ordenadores Software provides you with a visually appealing display of conventional dashboard information, such as current speed, while adding additional information like compass bearing and altitude. For those travelers who view speed limits as guidelines rather than strict rules, this app also comes with a database of speedcam locations. By comparing your location against a database of known speedcams, the app is able to alert you, visually and audibly, about the presence of a speedcam and its proximity to your vehicle.
Once you’ve arrived at your summer destination, deciding where to go next can be overwhelming. The near+now app by Sortuva Company aims to help solve that problem by finding places around your location based on whatever you feel like doing. This app learns your specific tastes better the more you use it, providing more relevant results with each additional use. To help you find something that suits your mood perfectly, near+now provides access to critic reviews and wall posts from other users alongside its recommendations.
As you’re bouncing around from place to place on your vacation you may want to keep track of your adventures to show your friends once you get home. The Travel Diary app by Roe Mobile Development lets you catalog your trip by adding time, location, and comments to your pictures. When you’re walking a friend through your trip afterwards, not only will that information be tagged with each picture, but an interactive map will also display the exact location each individual photo was taken, providing a visual way to remember each place you visited.
And finally, if you just can’t wait until you get home to share your trip with a friend, the Postman app by Freeverse will let you create a postcard with any picture you take. After personalizing it with your own greeting and message, you can share it with friends through email, Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr. Each postcard will allow your recipients to view where you took the picture on Google Maps, keeping them informed as your adventures progress.
By Amir Shaikh