I am a big fan of flying to new places and spending days familiarizing myself with the city. Most recently it was Washington D.C. and lower Manhattan in NYC (which I hadn’t been to since I was a pre-teen). Before I go to a place I have never been, I always try to research a little on transportation and dining.

A few years back I took a trip to Europe and was devastated when my Palm Treo at the time ended up costing me $1,400 in data fees. I was traveling on business so that is a story for another day but ever since then I have always looked for applications to load onto my smartphone that are perfect for low-data and travel scenarios.

I recently came across OffMaps which a short time ago got a massive update to version 2. It is a pretty simple and yet informative application that lets you download maps, transportation routes, and even wikipedia information onto your iPhone so you never need to go online again!

When launching the application for the first time you are presented with a guide that shows you around. It is helpful because the interface isn’t very intuitive, not to mention it comes with no maps and you have to go to their “Store” in the app to download up to two free maps.

A sample city included with the download would be great but taking into consideration the specific purpose of this application, I assume the sophisticated UI wouldn’t harm you.

The maps you download are stored in what look like envelope folders, but if you have a lot you can put them in list form or search through them. I must say this application would be incredibly useful in your pocket if you traveled the world.

The features in each map are pretty straightforward but once again, could use a better interface. In the upper left hand corner is a location icon that lets you zoom to where you currently are, pretty standard feature.

On the top right side is where this application makes its money. Tapping it reveals a wheel that has pictures of silverware, shopping bags, soccer balls, and even martini glasses. The interface here is exceptional so I won’t gripe. At the bottom of the wheel are buttons for Bookmarks and Wikipedia.

Selecting an item on the wheel presents you with places. Culture in San Franciscogets you sub-topics including: Sightseeing, Cinema, Art, Museum, and Theatre.

I am beginning to believe this application would be useful for planning a date in a city I already reside in! One huge flaw remains in this application and that is when you select something, you do not see the Wikipedia information on it. There is ZERO tie between the wikipedia articles and the locations. This is quite unfortunate as integrating something like Articles into locations would be helpful.

Despite the drawbacks of the application and its simple lack of obvious features, it is without-a-doubt one I will have in my pocket next time I travel to Europe. Some other small drawbacks include the inability to add locations to a list, export bookmarks, or integrated Yelp reviews. Perhaps this is coming in version 3 and I really hope it is because this application is currently fantastic but could be so much more.

OffMaps 2 can be purchased from the App Store for 99 cents

One thing I am always incredibly excited about is when an iOS developer emails me asking for a review and the application has something to do with location based information. There is something about your iPhone telling you where you snapped a photo, took a note, or ate last that is just mind blowing to me. Today the application is Notekeeper and it performs one very basic yet helpful task, logging the location of notes you take.

While this may hold little significance to some, the few that run around cities may find it abundantly helpful when trying to sort your daily life. When you first open the application you are presented with your most recent notes displayed in order of the last opened or edited. The title appears, location, and a photo if you so chose to snap one. Unfortunately right of the bat, it doesn’t have the option to display a little map instead of a photo which I saw as a missed opportunity.

When selecting a note you previously entered, you are brought to the same screen in which you would edit or compose a new note. The design of the page is simple enough to show valuable information but not decrease your screen real-estate. Along the bottom is trash, photo button, location, and forward. Slightly above those buttons are the current location of the note and any photos you may have attached.

While the main function of Notekeeper is geolocation, I never noticed until now how helpful attaching photos to my notes could be. Selecting a photo opens it in full screen mode. Now you may be asking yourself how attaching photos to notes could be useful. One instance is shopping lists, eliminating the need to jump between your Photo Library and the Notes application.

If you jump back to the main window you will notice a button at the bottom of the screen called Map. Selecting it will show you a full screen version of Google Maps but with your notes overlaid with pins.

This is a pretty simple application so I don’t need to explain much more except to detail the lacking of features. There are hundreds of note applications on the App Store for the iPhone these days and while each serves a specific niche, my main app of choice is Simplenote.

Since using Notekeeper though I have become addicted and frustrated when I have not been able to attach a photo to a note. It just makes sense! A feature Notekeeper should implement in the future is Dropbox syncing so that users can feel secure in the fact that their notes are always available, wherever. Other then that, it is a simple application that solves two problems and does so very well, I just wish it solved more.

Notekeeper for iOS can be purchased from the App Store for only 99 cents.

By: Joel Klassen

Stop the speeding tickets with AudibleSpeed (GPS Speed Monitor). This $2.99 app uses the iPhone’s built in GPS to track your speed. As you enter different custom set speed ranges, this helpful app emits different sounds to let you know your speed. If you find it hard to keep track of your speed without constantly checking your speedometer, this app will let you know your speed with different sounds. Watch a review of the app below!

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Download Link ($2.99)

Developer: OK Apps

After having done the whole search-the-maps-app for a nearby taxi number countless of times, I decided to just check and see if there was an available iPhone app that would help me make it from bar to home safely (and legally).  Turns out, there’s quite a few.  Here’s the first three free taxi apps I found and a little information about each of them.  The common theme is that they all use your iPhone’s GPS to determine your current location, letting you know what cab companies are in the area and how to reach them.  The differences are subtle, but it’s nice to know we have options.

Taxi Magic

Highlight: you can book online and straight from the app – there’s a link to do so right from the app.  Otherwise, numbers for the cab companies are listed and you can call straight from the app.

Taxi!

My favorite thing about this app is the “cards ok” icon that lets you know your cab company of choice will accept your credit card.  You can’t book online through the app, but you can make the phone call from it.  There’s also a rating system for you to let others know how your experience was.  The more people using this app and rating their service, the better for everyone continuing to use it.

Cabulous – Hail a Cab Instantly

Super simple interface here.  Select “passenger” if you’re looking for a cab, and you’re shown a map with a list of available nearby cabs.  Click on a cab to book it.

Did I miss any?

On Thursday, Foursquare announced that it was going to team up with the popular running app RunKeeper to give users badges for completing different lengths of runs using the app.

This change is part of an overall shift in the use of Foursquare, which is now enabling its users to earn badges for completing tasks, not just checking in places.  Instead of just checking in, earning badges will be measured by completion of a task.  For users using the RunKeeper and Foursquare partnership, badges will be earned on both applications.

Previously, Foursquare offered badges for health and fitness activities; however, one could earn said badges by simply checking into the location.  Now, users will have to complete a task to earn these more advanced badges.

Foursquare and CNN also announced that they were teaming up to encourage healthy eating.  Now, users who follow CNN can earn a Healthy Eating badge by checking in at a farmer’s market.  The press release from CNN states that by showing your Healthy Eating badge at some farmer’s markets, the farmer or venue may decide to give you a gift.  They also promote the use of the new, searchable USDA Farmer’s Market Directory to locate a farmer’s market near them.

Even more interesting are the possibilities for future partnerships, which Foursquare says they plan to announce soon.  Obviously, these sorts of partnerships benefit Foursquare, as they’re able to not only partnerships with a variety of other powerful apps, but they’re also able to garner new users who may only use other apps but may be lured by the promise and fun of the Foursquare game.

By: Joel Klassen

“Where To? – GPS points of interest” gives you points of interest for specific genres. For example, looking for a sushi restaurant near you? Just select the “Food & Drink” category, then the “Sushi” selection and see sushi restaurants close to your location. Get the restaurants address, phone number and website or click get directions which will direct you to a navigation app such as Navigon, TomTom or the default application on every iPhone, Maps. Winner of the “Best feel like a local app” award in the Best App Ever Awards 2009, Where To? is an app you can’t pass by without giving a try. Watch a review of the app below!

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Download Link ($2.99)

Developer: FutureTap

By: Joel Klassen

With advances in technology, we’ve been introduced to new ways to communicate. Letters, phone calls, voicemail, email and texting are just some examples of the technology we use to keep in touch with others. In today’s world, it’s all about speed which makes texting so popular. Writing quick, short messages which are received almost instantly are perfect for today’s racing world. Nevertheless, sometimes even texting can be too slow or not detailed enough to get the point across. You could be in a hurry and need to tell someone you’re going to be a little late. You need a quick, simple message to send in a few clicks.

This is just one situation where the new Geode Communicator comes in handy. Made by Geode Technology and available for $1.99 in the Apple App Store, Geode Communicator is a new, effective way to converse. The app creates a rich, detailed email which includes some text, your coordinates at the time of sending, and a voice mail like message called a “G-Voice Text” in WAV format. You may be thinking that this must take a long time to create but, thanks to the app, you can create one of these “Geode Messages” in around ten seconds. The app is this efficient because of the effective and easy to use design.

Opening the app will present you with a spin dial filled with short text messages, current GPS coordinates in Google Maps, buttons to record your G-Voice Text and options plus a help button. Once you have prepared any or all of these features you press the “Geode Me” button and the app brings all the information into a short concise email where you can add more text if necessary. Type the email you want to send the Geode to (or have the default email option set up earlier) and send your Geode. All of the media attachments are in a standard format viewable on all standard smart phones and email systems.

The short messages on the spin dial vary and include many short but precise messages that get the point across. This includes messages such as “Will be there shortly”, “I am shopping”, and “Join Me Here”. If you find that none of these fit your particular situation you can add custom messages which are added to the top of the spin dial. There was one minor issue when adding these custom messages; the messages only showed up the next time you opened the app. This might be frustration if you’re adding a custom message on the go and are in a hurry. However, this is just one issue that is easily outweighed by the positives of the app. Default email recipients can also be added for “To:”, “CC:” and “BCC:” sections if you send your Geodes to one person a lot.

If you have everything set up correctly, Geodes can be sent without typing anything at all in as little as five clicks, once in the app. This is what makes the app great. You can send a detailed email with all the necessary information you need and your exact coordinates in as little time as typing out a short text message. Plus, this is a great way to send international voice mails with no additional charge.

Geode Communicator is a great new, unknown app which will definitely increase you productivity. It’s perfect for people in hurries or those who are known to run late. Also, if using WiFi, it’s a great way to keep in touch internationally for free. Geode Communicator definitely deserves more recognition and you should definitely take a look at it.

Our Rating: 5/5

Download Link

Developer: Geode Technology

Everyone who’s ever moved from one place into a new place can probably testify that Craigslist.org is their best friend during the whole process. Have a couch you’re not taking with you? Post it, sell it, move on. Need a couch at the new place? Search it, buy it, find a friend with a truck to help you haul it.

But what about the fact that when you leave one place and move into another, you don’t have internet access right away? It’s tough to search for that perfect used kitchen table from the front seat of the U-Haul. Or what if you’re running those stock-up-on-cleaning-supplies errands at Target one weekend morning and decide you want to hit up a local garage sale?

Enter Craigsphone, the (not official) iPhone app for Craigslist.org. It’s a quick, sleek way to find out who’s selling (or buying) what in your city – at the tip of your finger tips. You can search the whole site, or browse by category, much like on the web. One thing I’d like to see that’s not there is a way to sort the results a little better (narrow down prices, etc), but for quick and dirty digging around, Craigsphone is a direct link between yourself and your neighbor’s trash and treasure.

Other features: you can post your own listing and access your account from the app. Not bad, Craigsphone. Not bad at all.

I love traveling.  I took 10 trips in three months last summer, visited LA three separate times, Chicago three separate times, NYC and Las Vegas for the first time ever and saw old friends in Colorado and family in Alabama.

I fly OFTEN, and I love the convenience of things like online booking and how easy it can be to figure out public transportation in an unfamiliar place thanks to Google Maps.  Up until recently, I’d keep all of this organized by keeping a folder in my carry-on bag.  In it, you could find the printed out copies of my boarding pass, my itinerary as printed out from Orbitz.com, Expedia.com, or whatever other booking service I used, my hotel confirmation, and other travel information I needed such as maps, and bus and train schedules.

Until now.

Enter TripIt.

TripIt does all of this for the wannabe-organized traveler.  Well, all of this except for the boarding passes, but it’s not so hard to check in early or at the kiosks now, is it?

TripIt.com is a website that allows you to track your trip and travel information – when you’re going, how you’re getting there, and where you’re staying.  On top of that, it’s a social network so you can see where your (approved) friends are headed and where they’ve been.  This, in and of itself, is pretty cool.

The part where it becomes a must-have is in the iPhone app and its seamless relationship with the site.  While you could type in everything by hand on the site and let it sync with your phone, TripIt goes one step further to make it that much easier.

You know those email confirmations you get from Orbitz, etc.?  Forward those to plans@tripit.com, and TripIt pulls out all of the relevant information, organizes for you, and spits it back out on the app as something you can read and easily reference while you travel.  Trips are listed in order chronologically (go figure), and within each one you’ll find any information you’ve passed on via email or added to your profile.  I forwarded my flight and hotel confirmations for an upcoming trip to San Diego on and everything’s on the app now for me: flight numbers and flight times, and once they’ve been determined, terminals and gate numbers will be added.  There’s map of San Diego already uploaded and available for me so that I know where I’m going when I get there.

I love calendars and mental notes, but if you travel frequently – TripIt is hands-down the most efficient and organized app for someone who needs the information accessible and organized.

With the iPad having been out for a week, users may still be trying to figure out where it fits into their day to day use, and developers are trying to tweak/create applications that take advantage of everything the iPad has to offer.  Immediately after getting my iPad I started to look for the same apps that I use daily on my various devices (BlackBerry Tour, Nexus One, iPod Touch).  I am an avid Twitter and foursquare user, so that is where I started.   One of the first apps I found and purchased was Dash Four, a foursquare application made specifically for the iPad. Read on to find out more about Dash Four. 

At the time of this post the official foursquare application for in the App Store has not been updated for the iPad, Dash Four offers a great alternative.  The application centers around showing you a large map of different venues that have been added to foursquare.  Each venue is indicated with the all too familiar map pin.  Once you press on a pin it will give you the venue name, which can also be touched to open the venue details.

From this screen you are able to via the foursquare venue page, see who is the mayor, how many people are currently there, and of course checkin.  One thing I wish the developer would add or change about Dash Four is during the checkin process the user is not prompted to enter a shout and also is not given the option to keep the checkin private or to send it to any social sites (Facebook, Twitter).

In the application you are also able to view your mayorships, badges, and friends.  There is a glitch right now for some users and their mayorships not showing up in Dash Four.  As you can see in the screen shots according to Dash Four I have zero mayorships, when in reality I have 29.  The developer is aware of this issue and has submitted an update to Apple to correct it.

With the Wi-Fi version of the iPad this application is only useful when you are connected, but with the 3G iPad coming soon this application will be great to use while out and about.  The simple fact that it shows great looking maps of the venues and is very straight forward to use is great. This is just the first release of this application and it can only get better from here, I look forward to seeing what else the developer can integrate into Dash Four.  I can see Dash Four becoming an application that makes it feel as if you are actually looking at a live foursquare map.   Dash Four, developed by Project Zebra, can be found in the iTunes App Store for $1.99.  Below are some more screen shots of the app in action.