I haven’t found anyone who doesn't love their Apple iPhone. If you're a chronic traveler like me, what's so appealing, apart from the incomparable ease of use and Web surfing integration is the content. With 100,000 Apple App Store apps — many of which are downloadable for free — there are just so many ingenious new travel applications that I'm sure many travelers are getting hooked. I already am.

It's ironic, if not sardonic, then, that CIO Insight would publish a "10 Things to Hate About the iPhone" slideshow. Sure, no single mobile device has it all, does it all, or will ever carry it all. But it seems to me that the iPhone comes closest. CIO Insight points out, however, that as much of a game-changer as the iPhone/iTouch platform is, it "is still a non-factor in the enterprise IT market." Are BlackBerry and the new Android closing the iPhone gap? Many think so.

In fact, eWEEK notes that Motorola just introduced its iPhone-challenging Droid smartphone, Verizon's first Google Android platform phone. The article also notes that analysts are saying this may be the first smartphone "to hold its own against the iPhone." That's a large order.

Whichever platform you favor, mobile tech has gone from a curiosity to, as Steve Smith characterizes it, an "inevitability," for marketers and others — and seemingly just in this past year. With so many applications percolating among a widening array of smartphone platforms, I wanted to continue my review of some of the top apps that are helping to reshape the total travel experience:

•    Urbanspoon for iPhone.  Designed to find a restaurant in an unfamiliar town, its claim to fame is as the world's leading site for "time-critical dining data" (who knew dining data could be time critical? Guess it depends how hungry you are.).
•    Trapster for BlackBerry.  When you're motoring in a rental car, you'd certainly appreciate knowing where the speed traps, red light cameras, and speed cameras are. This little ditty tells you.
•    Calorie Counter for Android.  For dieters on the go, this is your nutrition guide for convenience foods and restaurant fare.
•    Gate Maps for iPhone.  When you're in an unfamiliar airport, and in a hurry to get to your next gate (which I usually am), you need a map. What's great about this app is that it doesn't require a network connection — you can use it in Airplane mode. It delivers fast maps — no .PDFs or Flash software to slow you up.
•    TeleNav for BlackBerry.  This is a GPS app that provides driving directions; it also identifies restaurants, hotels, ATMs, and wi-fi hotspots.
•    Fusion Voicemail Plus for Android.  If you like to stay organized on the road, keeping on top of your voicemail is important. This app centralizes your home, office, and mobile voicemail in one place with a Touch-N-Listen feature that keeps things fast and simple. Brilliant.
•    Postman for iPhone.  This app lets you choose one of your iPhone photos to create a custom postcard that you can email.
•    Digital Clock for Android.  Turns your phone into a big-display bedside clock-alarm.
•    Night Stand for iPhone.  An app that's similar to Digital Clock.
•    WeatherBug for Android.  This app delivers severe weather alerts, local weather, and live neighborhood reports.
•    InnTouch for iPhone.  Identifies B&Bs and inns, provides photos and descriptions, and a link to the reservations function.
•    US Traffic for Android.  An app that shows traffic in U.S. cities.

Smart apps for smartphones are proliferating faster than the blink of an iPhone. I apologize if my short list of mobile travel applications has overlooked many handy and dandy apps. The point is that smartphones and other mobile devices have shifted the focus of travel technology away from the home or office computer and into travelers' hands. Already anyone who craves comfort, convenience, cost-saving, and choice will want to come armed with a smartphone, smart travel apps, and the know-how to use them. Mobile tech is becoming synonymous with traveling. Soon we'll have forgotten what travel was like before we all carried iPhones, BlackBerrys, Palms, and Androids.



Airline Futurist • Miami • www.us.amadeus.com