Lonely Planet volcano relief – free European iPhone city guides!

by Scott Carmichael on

Stranded in Europe due to volcanic ash? How about getting to know your host city a little better with the help of a Lonely Planet city guide? The guides normally cost $9.99, but Lonely Planet has graciously turned them into free apps until Thursday.

The lineup of apps covers most major European cities, and a list of the cities included (with App store links) can be found on the Lonely Planet blog.

Of course, nothing is stopping you from downloading the apps if you are not stranded, but be nice to Lonely Planet and snag one of their paid apps as well – they are good people, and the quality of these free guides is quite impressive.

This isn’t even the only bit of goodwill from Lonely Planet – they have also opened up a discussion forum where stranded travelers can find some assistance. To find a bed, car for share or anything else – head on over to the Volcano Refugee Network.

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Frommer’s travel tools provides nine handy iPhone apps in one

by Scott Carmichael on

Frommer’s just released their newest iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch application – Frommer’s Travel Tools. Their previous applications were mobile versions of their guidebooks, but this newest application acts as a 9-in-1 travel companion.

The app offers the following tools:

  • Tip calculator
  • Packing list
  • Postcards
  • Currency converter
  • Unit converter
  • Time translator
  • Travel trivia
  • City guides Flashlight
  • “Apps we love”

The best part of the application is the price – $0. Unlike some other travel companion apps, the Frommers app is surprisingly comprehensive. The tip calculator lets you split the check, and select the required tip level. The currency calculator can download the latest rate charts, and the postcard feature lets you pick images from a large collection of Frommer’s photos.

All in all, a great little tool to have on your phone. You’ll find the Frommer’s Travel Tools in the App store, or on the Frommer’s Mobile app site.

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SkyMall Monday: SkyMall Mobile

by Mike Barish on

For years, we’ve all enjoyed flipping through the SkyMall catalog on domestic flights. If you’re like us, you’ve always been frustrated that you had to wait until you landed to order your products. Sure, you could call in your order using the in-flight phone, but those calls are expensive and using the seatback phone pretty much lets everyone on the plane know that you’re a USDA certified douchebag. Now, however, more and more flights are equipped with wireless internet access. And that means that you can chat online, check emails and, yes, make your SkyMall dreams come true at 35,000 feet. Always on the forefront of innovation, SkyMall has made things even easier by introducing mobile apps for smartphones. Whether you’re a mile high, walking down the street or fingering a perp down at the precinct, you can browse the catalog, select your dream product and place your order all from your mobile device. It’s as if the best part of flying has packed its bag and moved into your pocket (which would explain that giant bulge you’re walking around with, champ).

Here at SkyMall Monday Headquarters, we still believe that the SkyMall catalog is best enjoyed in paper form on an airplane. But absent that, we welcome all technological advances that make getting these life-changing products into our hands quicker and easier than before. Which is why, this week, we’re taking a break from reviewing products to, instead, review the new SkyMall iPhone application.First things first, the SkyMall iPhone app is free. That makes it a real bargain.

More importantly, the app puts the entire SkyMall catalog on your phone. It automatically updates so that you are always perusing the current array of SkyMall booty. You can browse by department, by gift suggestions (sorted by intended recipient and price tiers) or simply search for a product by name. Once you identify a product of interest, you can read the product description, add it to your cart or email it to a friend to get a second opinion. After that, you can purchase your product directly from within the app.

The app allows you to complete your order just as you would online. You can even store your shipping address and credit card information for easy ordering. Within seconds, you’ll have found and ordered the SkyMall product of your dreams.

But the SkyMall iPhone app is more than just a handheld catalog. The app gives you instant access to SkyMall contact information, SkyMall’s Twitter feed and even a game of Concentration featuring popular SkyMall products. Killing time on flights just got SkyMallier!

As lovers of the SkyMall catalog, we love anything that brings us closer to becoming one with the catalog. But even someone without our strong pro-SkyMall bias would have to agree that this app is actually one of the better uses of mobile technology to date. It gives you true, 100% access to the catalog, excellent search capabilities and an ease of use that may be unparalleled in the mobile commerce market. Plus, you can’t beat the price.

SkyMall’s mobile app is available for iPhone and Blackberry. For those of you without either of those phones, you can still order on the go by navigating to SkyMall’s mobile page or by taking advantage of their new text-to-order interface. You can find out more about SkyMall’s mobile options here.

Check out all of the previous SkyMall Monday posts HERE.

The Mophie juicepack air – Protection and power in an single product – the Gadling review

by Scott Carmichael on

As awesome as the iPhone is, all that awesomeness comes at a hefty cost of battery life. Traveling with the iPhone means you will need to find a power source at least every 48 hours, or you may find yourself with a shiny brick. There are countless battery charging solutions for the iPhone – and we have covered many of them in the past here on Gadling.

In this review, we’ll take a quick look at a battery backup product built into a case – the Mophie juicepack air. The juicepack air is part case and part iPhone 3G/3GS battery pack. The case consists of two parts – you slide your iPhone into the bottom half, then slide the top on, creating a hard shell that protects the entire phone.

Of course, when you add any kind of case to your phone, it is going to add some bulk, but adding a case and battery obviously makes things even bulkier. The case weighs 2.2 ounces (62 grams), so while weight may not be an issue – the added thickness to your otherwise sleek iPhone may annoy you. This is of course the price you pay for more than doubling the battery life of your device.

The design features of the juicepack air are really quite clever – the microphone and speaker are fully functional thanks to two small indentations in the bottom of the case, and because of the way the speaker is pointed up, sound actually becomes more vibrant – as long as you don’t turn your phone screen down.

Charging the juicepack air is simple – you use the included MicroUSB charger cable, plugged into any USB power source. This USB cable doubles as a sync cable, which means you can leave your regular iPhone dock cable at home.

On the back of the juicepack air is a battery level button, and four blue LED’s show the current battery status. Unlike many other iPhone power sources, the juicepack air only powers your device when you need it – by turning it on. This means it is always ready to help power your device.

Yes – your iPhone will become quite a bit thicker, but anyone who has arrived at their destination only to find their iPhone is dead will probably learn to live with the bulk.

Final thoughts

The battery in the juicepack air is 1200mAh – which should be enough to almost double the life of your iPhone battery. In my test, I took an iPhone with an empty battery, and with the juicepack turned on, was able to keep it going for another 19 hours – which is about the same amount of time I’d get off the iPhone without a battery booster. During that test, I did the same things I usually do – lots of email and other apps, Wi-Fi on and some Bluetooth audio streaming.

The price is a bit of an issue – at $79.95 the Mophie juicepack air is not a cheap accessory, and there are cheaper options out there. Several online retailers stock the juicepack air for around $65 – which is still on the high side. That said – the juicepack air is one of the better looking battery packs, and many of the cheaper solutions really don’t look that appealing.

Still – if you don’t care about looks, or value your cash more than your style, then the juicepack air may not be the best option for you. However, if you like keeping your iPhone sleek, the juicepack air more than delivers.

PROS: Good looking, good build quality

CONS: Price, relatively low battery capacity

Personally, I would have preferred to see the package come a little more complete – there is no AC or car charger included, and no screen protector. These extras could have made the price a bit easier to accept.

Product page: mophie juicepack air

Two new smart iPad accessories from Cocoon Innovations

by Scott Carmichael on

Yes – today is “iPad day”. As thousands of people anxiously await the brown truck pulling up their house, I am reading the 120 or so emails announcing new iPad accessories that were sent in the past week – and picking out the best of the best.

Two of those “best” come from Cocoon innovations – their new The Harlem and The Gramercy both feature the neat GRID-IT! object retention system, allowing you to carry a lot more than just your iPad.

The Harlem (pictured above) is a water resistant messenger sling. The bag comes in three color combinations – black with yellow interior, gray with orange interior and red with brown interior. The Harlem will be available later this month for $54.99.The second new iPad case from Cocoon Innovations is one for the true Apple fan – the Gramercy messenger sling holds your iPad as well as your iPhone. Of course, this bag also comes with a GRID-IT! organizer making it the perfect storage system for your charger, iPad accessory dongles and more.

The Gramercy will also be available later this month, and at just $29.99 it appears to be a real bargain.

It is available in the same color combinations as the Harlem (black with yellow interior, gray with orange interior and red with brown interior).

Check out the full assortment of bags over at Cocoon Innovations which is where you’ll also learn more about their GRID-IT! system.