FlightBoard

Is there a more powerful travel tool than the iPhone or iPad? Having information in the palm of your hand everywhere you go, (as long as you’re on the grid) has certainly changed the way I travel and communicate. The FlightBoard app allows you to track the arrival/departure board at airports around the world just like you’re there. As you hustle through the busy holiday season, this might be a handy app to have in your arsenal.
 
Turn your iPhone or iPad into the Arrivals and Departures board for any airport in the world! FlightBoard lets you check out the boards of your favorite airports and view all the flight information in real-time. We used the board at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris as inspiration for the design so it has a beautiful, old school feel.

iTranslate iPhone app

My first job after college was working in the international marketing department of a graphic design company. I remember spending hours translating our documentation and business letters into one language after another, piles of dictionaries and how-to books littering my desk and covering my floor. My associate, Pascal, looked on in horror as I butchered one language after another.

Well, those days are gone for good. We live in an age of Rosetta Stones, online translators, and apps for our smartphones that can translate in the palm of our hands or speak for us. I have thankfully retired from the world of international marketing, and I can only hope that Pascal found fame and fortune with the marionettes she was so fond of making.

I have several of these translators on my phone. I can’t speak to the superiority of any one in particular. They all work on the same basic principal, type or speak phrase that you need, and the translator provides the translation for you. Text to Speech has come a long way but it still doesn’t sound exactly natural. I like all the various voices iTranslate has to offer, but I have to admit I haven’t bought any of them. If you have a favorite pass it along.

VeganXpress

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Here’s another handy app for your arsenal. VeganXpress (1.99) allows you to find the vegan options at many fast food and chain restaurants here in the States. It’s a nice tool to have at your disposal whether you’re on the road for business or pleasure.

The app also supplies a long listing of vegan friendly snack foods as well as beer/wines (supplied by barnivore).

I can’t remember the last time I ate a Dorito, but it’s good to know if someone passes the bag to me at our annual Super Bowl party, I can indulge.

Snap Shot Postcard

Here’s a cool app I tried out over the holidays called ‘Snapshot Postcard.’ The app lets you use the photos in your iPhone photo library to create a postcard for friends and family. Very quick, very handy. You take your picture, type in your message and address, and they do the stamping and sending. I shot a pic of the boys sledding out in the wilds of Illinois and sent it without even going in the house. Can’t beat that. It’s a free app, and your first postcard is free of charge.

Below is quick YouTube video someone recorded showing how to do it. 

Vegan Yum Yum

Vegan Yum Yum has a huge cache of creative and beautifully shot vegan recipes. Lauren Ulm, of Vegan Yum Yum, has published a Vegan Yum Yum cookbook, and has an iPhone app that ties in with the recipes on her blog. There’s an impressive array of ingredients and recipes for all occasions, as well as useful information that can help you go vegan. Looking through her site, I’m not sure she’s still posting new material, but there’s still an impressive amount of content.

Mobile Boarding Passes and More from Delta’s First iPhone App

As if your smartphone couldn’t get any smarter, right? American, British Airways, and United all offer a mobile boarding pass feature within their iPhone apps. And now Delta is getting with the program. They aren’t the only ones, of course, Lufthansa and SAS also offer mobile boarding passes. Soon it’ll be something everyone offers.

Somehow I imagine this innovation is driven by cost savings, but still it’s really cool. It’ll be one less thing to worry about losing as you go through Security.

Mobile Boarding Passes and More from Delta’s First iPhone App || Jaunted: “- Sent using Google Toolbar”

Gowalla

I recently added Gowalla to my iPhone. Gowalla, like Foursquare, is a location-based social networking device. Both of these apps allow you to check in at various locations and share your opinions of what you find there with your friends.

Gate Guru iPhone App

I’m always looking for tools that make travel easier, or at least a little less frustrating. I heard about Gate Guru from a friend of mine and downloaded it to my iPhone. Gate Guru allows you to locate food, shopping, ATM machines, news stands, WiFi, etc in most of the major US airports. There are a couple of non-US airports such as Heathrow and Vancouver as well. It’s a great tool to have at your disposal. It’s recently been incorporated into the Kayak iPhone app as well, making Kayak an even better one stop shop.

Vegan Is Easy iPhone App

I admit that I’m fond of an ice cold beer in the summer. And though I’m not as fond of beer in the winter, I’ve never let that stand in my way. Some vegans and vegetarians, however, might be unaware that animal and animal by products such as Isinglass are used during beer and wine production. Here is a handy iPhone app from Matthew Feinberg that can tell you which ones might be vegan or vegetarian friendly. It does a search through the Barnivore Vegan Alcohol Directory. Very handy. Barnivore welcomes contributions from the vegan community as well. So, if you’ve done some checking on one of your favorite drinks, you can provide them with what you found. Drink up and enjoy!