My phone is now the only electronic device I have. I use it to navigate, translate, entertain myself, keep in touch with my friends, take photos and write this blog.
All this is made possible by the awesome apps I use.
A while ago, I did a list of my 5 favourite Android apps – the ones that really make my life easier and more fun when I’m traveling.
The top five is now a top 7.
I’ve tried out a lot of apps that didn’t make it onto this list. These are the best of the best.
Check ’em out. They are gonna change your life.
This awesome free app gives you GPS navigation maps on your phone or tablet.
You do a one-time download of each country, and after that you never need internet again. You start the app, activate GPS, and you can see exactly where you are.
Map Factor allows you to see town and street names and nearby points of interest. It has a good map search facility, and you can drop flags on the map, to help you find your way back to your hotel or navigate to specific places.
This app is awesome. You can do speech or text based translations instantly, and even hear the translated text spoken.
Rotate your device, and the translation appears in large font so it is easier for other people to read during a translated conversation.
Now Google have added offline language packs, you don’t even
need internet to translate between your favourite languages.
This is a must-have!
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3. Wikivoyage Offline Travel Guide
It’s a free user generated guidebook to the whole planet.
After the initial download, no internet is required, so you can use it anywhere. As users edit and expand the online database, the app is periodically updated, so it stays current.
There are even phrase books for most languages included!
This app has problems though.
The app recently received an overhaul, and it works a bit better than before, but… It’s still glitchy and it doesn’t run at all on some devices.
If you’re lucky and it works for you you’ll love it.
4. SkyScanner
2016-10-10: This used to be the best cheap flight app out there. Sadly, that is no longer true. Skyscanner updated their app recently and now it is pretty much the same as all the other flight booking apps. Very disappointing. I’m looking for a better alternative but found nothing yet. The website still works well, so go to www.skyscanner.com in your browser to get the best value tickets.
You’re in Amsterdam. You want to go somewhere sunny and tropical. You start SkyScanner and select Amsterdam as your location. You select “destination: anywhere”. Up pops a list of destinations, ranked by price. Serious bargains can be had, especially if, like me, you aren’t fussy about the date you fly. THE easiet way to snap up cut price air tix.
6. Duolingo
I am a complete dummy when it comes to learning languages, but Duolingo makes it easy.
You just spend ten minutes a day doing simple, friendly lessons.
100% easy and 100% free.
7. Podkicker
I’m a major podcast junky.
I would say I listen to about 3 hours of podcasts a day.
I’ve tried a whole bunch of different podcast players and Podkicker beats them all, hands down.
It’s easy to use, fully featured and free.
>> Check out some of my favourite podcasts here.
