National Parks app comes to the iPhone

by Kraig Becker on

Visitors to America’s national parks now have a new high tech option for learning more about those amazing places. Last week the National Parks Conservation Association released an app for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch that offers up a wealth of information on 50 of the most popular parks in the country, including Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, and Yosemite. (For a complete list of the parks covered click here.)

The app is completely free and provides information on the plants and animals that travelers can expect to find in the various parks, including the ones that are poisonous and dangerous, something this always helpful when you’re not sure if your about to step into poison ivy or not. You’ll also find comprehensive lists of threatened and endangered species, as well as a brief history of each of the parks, including great photos from each location as well.

But that’s not all. The app also allows you to find parks that are close to your current location and offers directions on how to get there. It includes information on making reservations at each park, directions on how to find the visitors center, and current news from the park system on featured parks as well.

The field guide app was developed in conjunction with eNature.com, a company with an extensive database of information focused on wildlife. That database has been created by top biologists, zoologists, and conservationists, and contains information on over 6000 different species. That information is now, quite literally, delivered to the fingertips of visitors to the national parks.

There is one caveat to using the app however, as a data network is required to download the information. The iPhone will work where cell service is available, although in more remote areas of the parks that can be spotty at best. iPod Touch and iPad users will need to use wifi, which is available in some visitor centers, to load up their maps and information ahead of time. Keep that in mind when relying on this app to help guide you through the parks.

To download the new app click here.

[Photo credit: NPCA]

Daily Pampering: iPad finds a home in BMW’s back seat

by Melanie Nayer on

What once made your kids excited about car rides will soon be replaced with something even better…



Forget the back-seat video screens that used to keep the kids quiet (until the fights broke out over what to watch), the iPad is making its way into the back seats of BMWs.

USA Today is reporting that BMW will install optional brackets on the rears of the front seats of the next X3 crossover so back-seat passengers can read, watch movies, surf the Internet or play games while in the car on their Apple iPads. Revolutionary? Actually, yes. With this little enhancement, BMW buyers won’t have to spend extra installing the back-seat entertainment screens. Reports say BMW plans to show off the system at the Paris Motor Show next month.

This daily pampering is less about cost, and more about sanity. What better way to keep the back-seat quiet than with their own pre-loaded iPads that fit safely and snuggly in the brackets – no holding required. Kudos, BMW, for creating yet another way to occupy our kids so the adults can have a civilized drive that doesn’t end with one parent yelling, “Don’t make me pull this car over…”

Want more? Get your daily dose of pampering right here.

Celebrity Cruises taps iPads for art tours on its ships

by Ralph Grizzle on

Celebrity Cruises debuted self-guided art tours using iPads on its Solstice-class ships, continuing its adoption of Apple products for shipboard activities.

The iPads will flag select works of art on every deck, allowing the guest to touch the screen to learn more about those pieces, such as the artist’s name and the medium used.

Celebrity said its three Solstice-class ships have more than 14,000 works of original, contemporary art with a vast range of mediums represented, including glass, acrylics, oils, photography, digital prints, video, etchings, sculptures and collages.

The cruise line already uses the iPad for its menus and wine list in its Qsine specialty restaurant, which debuted this year on the Equinox, and its ships are home to “Celebrity iLounges,” equipped with MacBook workstations. Guests on board can take courses and get tips on Mac and iPod use.

“We knew our guests would relish yet another opportunity to capitalize on the latest technology in an entertaining, enriching way,” says Celebrity’s senior vice president of Hotel Operations, Lisa Lutoff-Perlo.

Hotels keeping up the pace with new technology

by Melanie Nayer on

iPod docking stations are so last year. Today, hotels are making a more concerted effort to upgrade their guest rooms and common areas with the newest technology that keeps guests connected, educated, and often times inspired, during their stay. While many hotels bring in iPads to keep their guests entertained, other hotels are getting super-sexy with some unique high-tech initiatives.

Check out the Royal Mansour in Marrakech. The property was created completely by Moroccan artisans and craftsman trained in the traditional arts of carving, silk weaving, and mosaics, but the hotel added cutting-edge technology throughout. For example, every guest room has a touch screen wall that enables guests to control lighting and temperature levels (tres chic!) and in case you tire of the personal butler service (although we can’t imagine why you would,) there is a ‘Do Not Disturb’ button on your wall for ultimate privacy.

Guest rooms at Pavillon des Lettres in Paris are perfect for the aspiring storyteller. Opening this autumn, Pavillon des Lettres is a small 26-room upscale hotel with a novel idea: guest rooms that are devoted to a letter of the alphabet that corresponds with a famous writer. (Think: H for Hugo or B for Balzac.) Passages from the writer’s books will appear above the bed and a hard copy of the book can be found on the nightstand. C’est magnifique! Closer to home, the quaint New England island of Nantucket is getting into the high-tech crazy. Nantucket Island Resorts offers Flip Video Camcorders for guests to use at each property, so you can record the sunsets, the hikes, the storms and the endless display of Nantucket baskets that parade around the island every summer. (Hint from this New Englander: Grab a seat at the White Elephant at sunset and capture the boats coming into the dock – it’s one of the best, and most unique, New England moments). You can enter a one-minute video clip in the Flip Out on Nantucket Sweepstakes for the chance to win a grand prize Nantucket vacation worth $15,000.

We couldn’t do a post about high-tech hotels without mentioning one of the newest and techiest hotels to hit the New York scene: Andaz Wall Street and the newly opened Andaz 5th Avenue. Thanks to technology, guests skip the front-desk altogether and use mobile tablets to check in with the hotel’s floating ‘hosts’. Have a rough day? Enjoy a glass of wine while you check-in. In a hurry? Check-in from the elevator on the way to your room. Guests just swipe their credit cards and a room key is created on the spot. Genius!

Gadling readers: What new technology would you like to see in hotels?

Langham Hotels International launches voice-enabled iPhone app

by Melanie Nayer on


We make it a priority at Gadling to ensure our readers are equipped with the best travel advice, travel tips and travel amenities (including gear, gadgets and more) before setting out on their journey. However, we also know that some people just don’t listen. For those people (and you know who you are) technology is a wondrous invention.

Even though we’ve told you over and over again to always include a business card from your hotel, or a matchbook with your hotel’s address on it in case you get lost, you didn’t listen, did you? And what happened? You got lost, and your cab driver didn’t speak English and took you for a bit of a ride, didn’t he? Did you learn your lesson? Probably not, but the Langham Hotels group has created a little ditty that might just help you.

Langham Hotels International recently launched Langham Touch – the first hotel iPhone application that offers voice-enabled travel phrases in a variety of languages so you’ll never get lost again (at least not in a city where there’s a Langham property). The voice-enabled phrases include directions to the hotel from virtually anywhere in the city and if you just can’t make it work, then there’s a hotline to the local Langham property where they will surely help out.

The app includes a mini-city guide of your destination and recommendations to cultural must-do and sees around the city including top attractions, restaurants and bars. Of course, the iPhone app also includes hotlines for room reservations and allows guests to access hotel information, as well as the ability to order room service, ask for a wake up call and make restaurant reservations.

The best part? It’s free, so you really have no excuse for getting lost now.