New National Geographic app puts the world in your hands

by Kraig Becker on

If you’re a fan of maps, then you’re definitely going to want the latest iPad app from Nat Geo. The new app, entitled The World by National Geographic, provides an interactive atlas that lets you explore the planet from your easy chair, while giving you multiple zoom levels, country facts, and wonderful photos from a variety of locations.

When you launch the app for the first time, you’ll be presented with a view of the Earth from space. If you’re anything like me, your first instinct will be to spin that globe, just like you would a physical one that exists in the real world. I was delighted to find that swiping a finger across this virtual representation of the planet did just that, with the animation running very smoothly. The usual array of iOS gestures work as well, and soon you’ll find yourself intuitively pinching to zoom, tapping on points of interest, and so on.

At the start, you’ll be able to easily identify the seven continents, with red lines clearly marking the borders between countries as well. You’ll also notice a number of yellow dots sprinkled across the globe that indicate that more detailed maps are available for that region. Some of those dots will be labeled, while others won’t indicate the area they represent until you tap on them. Double tapping will zoom the view in much closer, presenting a higher resolution version of that region that offers far more detail, including individual towns and villages, roads, rivers, and much more.

Along the bottom of the screen you’ll find alternative ways of navigating the app, including a “Maps” section that shows all of the individual regional maps that are available in the software. You can also search for countries by name or continent, which will show an alphabetical listing of those nations along with a graphical representation of their flag. In this mode, when you tap on the country you wish to find, the globe will automatically spin to that destination, while simultaneously zooming in to a more detailed level. You’ll also be presented with a number of facts about the country as well with such data as population, capital, currency, and much more placed at your finger tips.As you might expect, the “Photos” option presents a number of beautiful images from a number of countries, which are once again listed in alphabetical order. Tapping on an image displays a larger, higher resolution version and includes a caption to let you know exactly what the photo is and where it was taken. While you can spend a couple of hours flipping through the photos, I would have liked to have seen even more. As a fan of National Geographic’s trademark photography, I felt the offerings were sparse at times, with many countries having just one photo or none at all.

I’ve always been someone who has been fascinated with maps and atlases, so I found myself thoroughly enjoying The World, but if you’re not a map fiend, you may find yourself growing bored rather quickly. You’ll also discover that without an Internet connection, some of the higher resolution version of the maps won’t be available to you. That said however, this app isn’t designed to be a navigational aid, but more of a reference. In other words, you won’t be heading out on your travels intending to use this for finding your way around. Instead, you’ll curl up with it on the couch when the need to explore comes over you, but you just don’t feel like heading out the door.

The World is available now in the App Store for $3.99 and is yet another high quality app from National Geographic, who has put out a steady stream of them over the past year or so. Unlike most of their apps however, this one is only available for the iPad and won’t run on the iPhone or iPod Touch.

Travel sizes and the 3-1-1 rule: new study suggests shift in consumer behavior

by McLean Robbins on

The TSA‘s 3-1-1 rule has been in place for only five years, but it may have forever changed travel behavior.

The rule limits passengers to one quart sized zippered bag and liquid or gel items of no more than 3.4 ounces in all carry-on luggage.

Prior to the 3-1-1 rule’s implementation, 18% of the respondents considered themselves to “not at all” purchase travel sizes prior to the 3-1-1 rule, 59% did “sometimes,” and 23% considered themselves regular users.

Slightly over 40% of the survey respondents currently use travel-sized products 41% one to four times per year, 34% use them five to eight times, 14% use them nine to 12 times and 11% use them more than once per month.

As might be expected, the “regular” users of travel-sized items reported little shift in behavior and the regular and occasional users reported upticks in usage.

What was of particular interest was that their usage was fairly evenly split amongst purchasing branded travel sized items, and transferring their existing large sizes into empty travel sized containers. One could surmise that there were different factors that went into the choice to convert existing large sizes into empty bottles:
* Expense of purchasing a new item when the larger bottle already existed.
* Environment concerns about the additional waste in packaging.
* Reaction to being “told what to do” by someone (e.g. the government).
* Favorite brand or product not existing in a travel size.
* Or any number of other factors.

Looking into the future, the respondents forecasted their future usage of travel sizes if and when the 3-1-1 rule is lifted.

The most interesting group was the group that did not use travel sizes at all prior to the 3-1-1 rule being put into place. Within this group, while only 50% said that they would no longer purchase travel sizes, a significant 29% said they would purchase fewer than what they were doing, and 15% said they would use the same amount or more of the travel sizes due to their convenience. Additionally, 7% said that they would use them for travel and for regular use as they are now “part of my life.”

Combined, this represents a change in habit for half of these prior “non-users.”

For the group that only sometimes used travel sizes prior to the 3-1-1 rule, the results showed that only 3% would no longer purchase travel sizes, 49% would purchase fewer, but 30% would use the same or more, and an additional 18% would use the same or more including both travel and non travel usage.

It was interesting to note that compared to airplane travel, nearly all of the other modes of transportation showed a more significant future usage of travel sizes, including every other method scoring stronger than airplane travel when it came to determining that travel sizes had become “part of my life.”

One of the most common complaint was that the respondents’ favorite brand did not come in a travel size.

Need to purchase a travel-sized item yourself? Our favorite retailers include Minimus.biz (the organization that conducted the survey) and 3floz.com.

Kickstarter project wants to create a new tourism website for Washington State

by Melanie Renzulli on

Washington State has plenty to offer the tourist, including incredible natural wonders, such as Mount Rainier and Puget Sound, and one of the coolest cities in the country in Seattle. Despite this, Washington is unable to afford a state-funded tourism board. In July, Washington State became the only state in the nation without a statewide tourism office.

While this sad set of circumstances would deter many a Washington tourism booster from taking any action, one Kickstarter user has decided to use the opportunity to create a new website and interactive platform to promote tourism in Washington State. Travel writer, media startup pro, voluntourism advocate, and Seattle native Charyn Pfeuffer is hoping to launch GoWAState.com by spring 2012 with the funds she raises on Kickstarter. Pfeuffer’s funding request is for $50,000, all of which she must raise prior to the project’s October 8 deadline.

If funded, GoWAState.com would offer typical tourism website fare, such as city and regional profiles, a travel planning section, maps, and a blog. It would also incorporate social media, community boards, subscription web deals, and professional photography. GoWAState.com is not intended to replace the Washington State tourism office, Pfeuffer claims in her project description. Rather, Pfeuffer wants to “share [Washington State’s] diversity with visitors and local weekend warriors via an engaging new resource.”

Take a look at the GoWAState.com project’s introductory video below. Do you think it has what it takes to meet its goal?




[Photo credit: Flickr user nonsequiturlass]

Top ten Labor Day destinations compiled by Hotwire

by McLean Robbins on

Travelers looking to make Labor Day reservations are fast approaching a crossroads – should they book now and hope for cheaper fares (particularly with advance reservation discounts and lower air prices outside of the 14-day window) or wait and see if a last-minute deal arises?

If you’re considering a variety of cities for your last hurrah of summer, Hotwire has compiled some interesting data on the top ten cities (based on room rates) booked by customers for the September 1 – 6 window.

Thankfully, all of the most-booked destinations have affordable hotel options, with the average prices in most cases well under the $200 mark.

These destinations are:
1. New York, NY, $195
2. Boston, MA, $129
3. Chicago, IL, $90
4. Las Vegas, NV, $95
5. San Francisco, CA, $135
6. Toronto, ON, Canada, $93
7. Vancouver, BC, Canada, $116
8. San Diego, CA, $94
9. Dallas-Fort Worth, TX, $59
10. Washington, D.C., $89

Where will you be traveling this Labor Day? Or are you sticking close to home?

[Flickr via Leo Newball]

New site helps you plan day trips from Mumbai

by Melanie Renzulli on

As someone who lived in Mumbai for two years, I can tell you there were numerous weekends when I just wanted to get away from the blaring car horns, insane traffic, and “go go go” mentality of India‘s most populous city. I relied on guidebooks and word-of-mouth to find out about nearby hill stations, such as Matheran (pictured at right), and beach-side resorts that were suitable for a day trip or weekend excursion. But even with those resources at my disposal, I knew that there had to be scores of other places that my friends didn’t know about or that guidebook writers didn’t have room to cover.

Thankfully, there’s a new website that is trying to take the mystery out of planning a short jaunt from Mumbai. A Break Please (www.abreakplease.com) recommends places to go depending on how much time you have (one, two, or three days), how many travelers are in your group, your budget, and whether or not you have a car (not a given in a country where the per capita income hovers around $1,050). Somewhat akin to Wanderfly, A Break Please also makes travel suggestions based on the type of trip you want to take. Select from beach, hill station, fort, pilgrimage, and four other options.

Having just launched a few weeks ago, A Break Please is very much a work in progress. For example, you can’t book directly from the site and options such as choosing the type of company you will be traveling with (as mentioned on the website’s blog) are not yet available. But even just a quick search on the site returned dozens of accommodations ideas, complete with contact info, nearby activities, and, for the carless, a train schedule detailing fares and departure times.

While A Break Please may not be practical for many travelers to Mumbai, it does appear to be a useful tool for locals and expats who may just need a break from the frenetic pace of Bombay.