App vs map on a trip to Paris
And so my self-inflicted challenge to navigate Paris using an iPhone begins, much to the chagrin of my travel companion. A multitude of apps, ebooks and integrated, virtual platform guides for travel, of the kind once imagined only in science fiction, is now available at the fingertips of the humble traveller. But do they work? And will they ever replace the guidebook? Travel-guide companies are investing heavily in their digital resources in order to make sure the tech-savvy traveller is catered for, but is this tech addiction just a foolhardy case of "have iPad, will travel"?
"It was a case of just realising that once these devices were available, people would want to use them," explains Amy Schuman, former associate director of marketing for Frommer's, the travel-guide publishers, whose digital and print offering has just been sold to Google for an undisclosed sum. Its ebooks, available on iPad, iPhone, Android and Kindle, do more than just replicate the print format. Frommer's is developing audio functions, so you can Louis Vuitton Outlets take in the scenery rather than just burying your head in an ebook. A disembodied voice will spontaneously tell you about a point of interest as you happen to be near it, so you don't have to follow a prescribed route.
"It lends itself better to an independent traveller. It's made for those surprising moments you get when you travel," Schuman says. The Frommer's ebooks have bright pictures and a bookmark function that's as easy to use as turning the corner of a page. Also, if you use them online, you can see the comments and highlights from other tourists. "If the bar you visit isn't serving cosmopolitans right now, but Cheap Louis Vuitton does a great alternative, travellers can Louis Vuitton Outlet Online make a note in real time so that others can make an informed decision about going there," Schuman says.
Other useful online gadgets include Frommer's free Travel Tools app, which has a currency converter, time translator, tip calculator and flashlight (handy when camping, Cheap Juicy Couture walking down country lanes at night, or searching in your handbag down a dark side street in Paris for your Crazy Horse tickets), and Vocre, available for free with adverts, or £1.99 without, on iPad and iPhone. Vocre allows an almost free-flowing conversation with people who speak another language. It comes in handy late in the evening, when I need to ask for a cork ("un bouchon", which is also the word for a traffic jam).
