Applications called "Apps"
New applications for mobile phones and computers (called "Apps") are becoming very popular with travellers and they have the potential to add a great deal to your DriveWA holiday so we recommend you consider them for your phone or if you dont have a phone or device which can take Apps consider buying borrowing or hiring one for your DriveWA adventure.
We will shortly be hiring TomToms from our office in Perth with some great information including our itineraries and points of interest loaded onto them - watch this space for developments!
Driving WA with Apps.
There has been a revolution happening in the technology space for some time now which is making international traveling and traveling around Western Australia more fun and that is the proliferation of computer Apps or Applications for computers and mobile phones.
Apple Computers apparently say there are more than 200 thousand Apps available for iPhones and iPads and iPods and more than one billion have been downloaded already.
There are Apps for Blackberry, Android and Nokia but they are less numerous than those available in the Apple environment.
We have collated some information about them from a number of sources to help our clients find their way around this space but please rely on your own investigations to confirm or deny the detail here as we have not downloaded or tested all these ourselves yet although we are making an effort with some of them. It’s fun and exciting - mostly!
Airport Guide by ifly.
Allows you to find your way around many airport terminals world wide and not just to the gates but to cafes, wifi locations, ATMs etc – price $5 at time of writing and available online at bit.ly/iflyapp and on platforms including iphone and itouch.
Amazon Kindle
The Amazon bookreader which allobws you to download 380 thousand books onto your smartphone, iPad or laptop and its free (the App that is) and books vary in price. Online:Blackberry:amazon.com/kindlebb, iphone bit.ly/iphonekindle Platforms iPhone/iPad/Ipod Touch, Blackberry
ABC
The Australian Broadcasting Commission has an excellent App which allows you to keep up to date with whats happening in the rest of Australia with news bulletins, radio and episodes of some of their TV shows and weather forecasts etc, Price is free and online at bit.ly/abcapp on Platforms iPhone and iPhone Touch.
Autostitch Panorama
Because of the great beauty of the Western Australian scenery many people get a lot of fun out of photography on their DriveWA holiday so if you see one of those wide panoramic shots that take your breath away this app will allow you to take several photos with your iPhone camera and let this App blend them together into a beautiful wide panoramic shot that does justice to the great Aussie outback or our magnificent beachside settings. Price at time of writing $4 Online bit.ly/autostitch Platform iPhone.
Currency Converter
There are apps for iPhone, Blackberry, Android, Nokia, and windows mobile – Price free – Online bit.ly/currencyapp.
Lonely Planet and DK Eyewitness Top 10 travel guides and map.
Great range including Lonely Planet cheaper than buying the book – Price $10 (iPhone) and Online traveldk.com/apps, Blackberry.com, mobisystems.com
Facebook
Many travelers use Facebook to keep up to date and in touch and it is available for all major platforms as a free App. Facebook.com
Fromer’s Travel Tools
Packing list, currency calculator, tip calculator, flashlight, ability to send postcards by email and electronic travel guides. Price Free at time of writing Online bit.ly/frommerstools Platform iPhone and iPod Touch.
GeoMaps
Allows you to download city maps when you are online and store them for use offline which saves you money and time and gives you the maps in the areas where there is no signal. Price Free Online bit.ly/geomaps. Platform Ipad.
HearPlanet Lite.
The App locates you and then presents and can read out entries from Wikipedia about the area you are in – almost a tour guide. Price Free Online bit.ly/hearplanet Platforms iPhone and iPod Touch.
Mobile Banking
Westpac, CBA, St George and Bank of Queensland now offer banking apps which allow you to keep track of money, make transfers and pay Bills.
Price Free at time of writing. Online – various – eg Platforms iPhone, iPod Touch, Blackberry, Android, Nokia, Windows mobile.
Parking Pal
Snap a picture of the car and it records the GPS bearing so you can see it on a map later. Records multilevel carpark locations and alerts you when the meter is about to expire.
Online bit.ly/parkingpal, blackberry,carfinder, Android, carfinder.
PayPal
Send money via PayPal on mobile to anyone and with the iPhone version people can transfer money to each other by bumping the phones together after setting the transfer amount and passwords been entered. Price Free at time of writing Online - Paypal website - Platforms iPhone,iPod Touch, Andriod, Blackberry.
Podtrapper
Blackberry App which allows you to automatically download your favourite podcasts and it can be set to download automatically when connected to wi-fi to avoid global-roaming costs. Online bit.ly/podtrapper.
Postman
Create and email postcards using photos taken by the iPhone. Price $4 at time of writing. Online bit.ly/postmanapp Platforms iPhone and iTouch.
Skype
Free or cheap phone calls from anywhere in the world from a mobile phone and from wifi hotspots you can avoid global warming hotspots. Price Free at time of writing. Online skype.com
Sms Touch
The cost of sms is increasing but this app sends sms via the internet for 10c at the time of writing. Price $5 at time of writing, Online bit.ly/smstouch Platforms iPhone and iPod Touch.
TomTom
The best voice guided GPS system for many applications and now its available for your iPhone and iPod Touch - each country is a different app and you may want an iPhone car kit to get the most convenient results. Prices range and at the time of writing the fee for Australia was $89.99.
We are very keen on TomTom and are currently negotiating to establish a hire service for TomToms and keep your eyes open for announcements of some new ideas we are developing so you can use your TomTom app to drive our best itineraries. Online bit.ly/tomtomapp.
Trip Journal
High tech journal which logs the exact locations via GPS and allows you to snap photos, film videos and share them via social networks like Facebook and at the end of the trip you can enjoy a cohesive travel journal to remember your DriveWA.com holiday by. Price $1.20 (iPhone) and $3 (Android) Online trip-journal.com Platforms iPhone/iPod Touch and Android.
Wifi Finder
Wi-fi hotspots are useful and there are 140 countries and 280,000 spots on this as we write this. Android needs JiWire Price Free as this is written and Online bit.ly/wififinder Platforms iPhone/iPod Touch. We had some trouble acccessing that bit.ly link so we went from google to the itunes store directly and found it - there is more than one way of finding an app of course.
Wikitude
Point the camera towards something of interest and information about the image drawn from Wikipedia will appear on the top. Price Free as this is typed Online wikitude.org Platforms iPhone/iPod Touch, Android, Nokia
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