10 mobile applications to help you on the road

Today I’m going to show you 10 different applications that can help you out when on the road. They vary from basic mapping, to complete flight schedule databases.

Weatherbug

The Weatherbug network consists of 1000′s of weather stations; most of them within 2-3 miles of your location. This makes for a very reliable and accurate weather network.

The Weatherbug Mobile application offers the same features as the desktop version, including radar maps, forecasts and even snapshots of the Weatherbug webcam network.

Price: $14.95 (WindowsMobile, Lifetime), $39.99 (Blackberry, annual)

Available for: WindowsMobile, Blackberry

Trial available: yes (30 days) Download here.

SPB traveler

SPB Traveler is an all-in-one travelers assistant. It combines weather, time management, currency converter, unit converter, dialing code and even a mini geography game.

The application installs 2 portions; a full program, and a today screen plugin. One of the more powerful features is the ability to add appointments to Outlook in a specific location e.g. you can add a meeting in Acapulco, and the device will schedule things based on the correct time zone.

Price: $29.95

Available for: WindowsMobile

Trial available: yes (30 days). Download here.

Zagat Guide to go.

I’ve reviewed the Windows version of the Zagat to go in the past.

If you rely on the content in the paper Zagat books, then the pocket version may be just what you need. It has everything the regular guides offer, plus of course search and mapping features.

The $29.95 purchase price includes one year of updates, and the application can even update "over the air" so you don’t always need to have access to a computer to get the latest guide revision.

Price: $29.95

Available for: WindowsMobile, Palm, Blackberry

Trial available? Yes (14 day). Download here.

Google Maps Mobile

Google Maps Mobile was the first of several free mobile mapping applications. It combines the power of Google Maps with the results of Google Search. Results are presented in an easy to read list, and can then be pinpointed on a map. Nothing is stored locally (except for a little bit of cached storage) so all the map images need to be transferred using your data connection. This is fine on a 3G enabled phone, but slower devices may take up to a minute to load a map, making it less suitable for using when driving (not that you should anyway).

Maps can be displayed in 2 modes; street view and satellite view with an additional setting to overlay real-time traffic information on the map.

If your device supports GPS, then you’ll be able to pinpoint your location with the receiver. Users on GSM networks can even get a rough estimate of their location without GPS, using the new "my location" feature.

Price: free (requires a data plan on your device)

Available for: WindowsMobile, Symbian, Java, Palm and Blackberry

Download here.

Windows Live Search Mobile

Quite similar to Google Maps Mobile, but with a few added features. Windows Live Search mobile also offers maps, but adds voice recognition for the search entry, as well as local gas prices and movie times.

The voice recognition feature is great, as it creates a way to enter destinations without having to type while driving. The recognition accuracy is impressive, and even oddly spelled locations can be found without the need to type.

The application is currently only available for the US and UK. Like Google Mobile Maps, Live Search supports built in and external GPS receivers to show your actual location on the map.

Price: free (requires a data plan on your device)

Available for: WindowsMobile and Blackberry

Download here.

Shozu

It’s great that so many smartphones can now take decent quality photos; but great photos are useless if you don’t have a way of sharing them.

Shozu installs on your device, and can send your photos to over 20 different locations. Anything from email to Facebook. It’ll even upload them directly to Flickr or Picasa for you.

All you do is take a photo, and Shozu does the rest. Of course, you’ll want a flat-rate data plan, and will need to be sure you disable it if you are roaming abroad as the data costs involved in uploading a lot of photos can skyrocket. 

Price: free (requires a data plan on your device)

Windows, WindowsMobile, Palm, Blackberry and Symbian

Download here.

SugarSync

Here I go again, talking about Sugarsync, but I can’t stress enough how important it is to make some good contingency plans for the (un)likely event that you suffer some kind of data loss when on the road.

Sugarsync synchronizes files from your desktop between other computers, and even allows access to them through a (mobile) web browser.

The mobile application also synchronizes photos you make on your device, plus it offers one-click access to your Sugarsync locker.

Price: free (requires a trial or paid Sugarsync subscription and a data plan on your device)

Available for: Windows, WindowsMobile, Blackberry

Download here.

Worldmate

Worldmate has been around for as long as I can remember, this is another all-in-one travel companion, but far more complete than SPB Traveler.

It comes with all the stuff you’d expect (weather, currency conversion, itinerary manager), but adds powerful features like realtime flight status, worldwide flight schedules and even a desktop synchronization option.

They make things a little complicated by offering 6 different versions, but it’s fairly easy to select the right one. The cheapest is free, and only does the most basic of things (I reviewed it back in December), the professional version (with flight status and schedules) costs just under $75 per year, and includes unlimited updates from OAG.

Price: from free up to $99 depending on the version.

Available for: WindowsMobile, Palm, Blackberry,Symbian, Java

Trial available? Yes, download here.

Pocket Travel Alarm 

Anyone that has experienced the horror of the cheap hotel alarm clock knows how important it is to have a backup.

Pocket Travel Alarm is  by far the most reliable phone alarm application I’ve come across for my PDA. It is full of features, but best of all; it always works.

 

Price: Currently $9.99 (when using PayPal)

Available for: Windows Mobile

Trial available? Yes. Download here.