Lonely Planet Apps

It seems like every time I find a need for one of the many apps on my smartphone, I have no Internet connection to run it from. 3G can only go so far, and a lot of times, it isn’t enough to get the job done. There’s nothing worse than having a partially loaded map in an unknown area because your connection miraculously disappears. So, I was recently surprised to read about Lonely Planet’s new feature to their smartphone guidebooks: they are now completely connection-free apps. You no longer need that unreliable connection to check out all of your “highlights” and “Regional Itinerary” because its all stored within the $9.99 app. With all the perks and content of the huge original guidebooks, the apps are specific to each destination. Included are city guides, language translators, audio walking tours, and audio phrasebooks that will help you “get to the heart of the city in no time,” says Lonely Planet.  The best part is that it doesn’t matter if you’re an iPhone, Android, or Nokia kind of guy; Lonely Planet has an app for you.
Ellen Studer
BestWeekends.com