Struggling to communicate with foreigners in their own language is one of the most interesting aspects of traveling for many people, but new smartphone applications and other technological advances are changing the game.
It’s nearly 2010, another milestone in a century where sci-fi fantasy is fast becoming high-tech fact. Travelers are boldly traveling where (and how) they’ve never traveled before, free from the burden of guidebooks, pocket-bulging brochures and absurdly oversized fold-out maps that shout “tourist” (and “pick my pocket”).
These days, destination, museum and other sightseeing guides fit in the palm of your hand — along with a compass and GPS — so you’ll never be late for a flamenco show and lost in Sevilla, or anywhere else on earth, again.
They’re available as applications for the cellular phenomenon that is the smartphone. BlackBerries, iPhones, Androids and other devices can search four-star Florence restaurants by the moonlit Arno River or surf for hotel recommendations and book a room, all on the spot.
Need to SitOrSquat in Spain? Toilet apps like Have2P (includes an “urgency detector”) and SitOrSquat (it functions worldwide) locate lavatories and offer restroom reviews. Tap the smartphone screen and presto! — a renewable resource of travel tools and information materializes. Hard money training.
Tags: sightseeing, smartphone, technology, travel, travelers, traveling
