REI Snow Report brings detailed ski reports to your iPhone

by Scott Carmichael on

REI has teamed up with mobile application developer Zumobi to design a snow report app for the iPhone and iPod Touch.

The application delivers reports from the US, Canada, Europe, Argentina, Australia, Chile and New Zealand. In total, over 200 resorts are available, and users can pick their 12 favorite to be added to the cool rotating menu.

Resort information is very impressive – you’ll get the latest snowfall, current snow depth, temperatures, conditions, the status of lifts and trails, and even the latest Tweets made by the resort.

In addition to this, you can also access maps, a five day forecast, webcams and contact information.

Of course, since REI commissioned the app, you can also find your nearest REI store, follow REI Tweets and go shopping for new gear, right inside the app.

The best part is the price – free. You’ll find the application in the app store by searching REI or by clicking this link (iTunes URL)

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New Virgin Atlantic iPhone app helps people with a fear of flying

by Katie Hammel on

I suffer from serious anxiety while flying. I’ve tried learning about the mechanics of flight, popping Xanax, I’ve even taken a flight lesson in an effort to cure my fear. Sometimes I can stay calm, but on other flights, for apparently no reason, I’ll suddenly have a panic attack. It’s more than a small problem.

For people like me, Virgin Atlantic has created a new iPhone app based on their Flying without Fear class. According to a press release, their course has a 98% success rate for helping fearful flyers cope. The iPhone app takes elements of the course (which recently helped Whoopi Goldberg manage her fear) and offers a mobile solution for use during the flight. Passengers can watch a video explanation of how planes work, read answers to frequently asked questions, and follow along with deep breathing and relaxation techniques.

There’s also a “fear attack” button for emergencies. The problem with that idea being, of course, that when I truly panic – shaking and hyperventilating – I don’t really have the capacity to hit my fear button and read and process the information. I’m too busy trying not to cry. But perhaps reviewing the information beforehand might help if a moment of panic strikes.

The Flying without Fear course usually costs about $350; the iPhone app is $4.99 in the iTunes store. Even if the app only helps a little, it sounds like a sound investment to me.

Gadling gear review – USA Today AutoPilot

by Scott Carmichael on

The App Store is full of travel applications – I’ve got at least 40 of them on my iPhone, but many of them have a very specific purpose, and I’ll only need them once a month (or less). The new USA Today developed “AutoPilot” is one that has already seen more use than most others put together, and may even end up replacing my current favorite – TripIt.

AutoPilot is a Swiss Army Knife of travel applications. It offers the following features in one app:

  • TripIt itinerary integration
  • Flight tracker
  • Airport delay map
  • Airline/hotel contact database
  • Weather
  • Destination galleries (powered by Flickr)
  • Articles & experts (with USA Today content)

That first feature is pretty nice – you get a similar interface as found in the iPhone/iPod Touch TripIt application, with a couple of extra features thrown in (like the ability to email someone your itinerary).

To integrate with TripIt, you do a one-time authorization on a web page, which allows AutoPilot to access all your TripIt itineraries.

The flight tracker information shows up in your itinerary, but can also be searched using flight number, route or airport. The information delivers all you really need – departure (estimate), any delays, and arrival/departure gate information.

The airport status screen uses information delivered by FlightStats, and shows all known delays at US airports. Since this information comes directly from the FAA, it is usually quite accurate, and helps give a good idea how the rest of your day may look

I’ve included a brief gallery showing some of the various sections of this app. I’m loving the TripIt integration, and the extra content makes for a well designed application – a real “must have” for any traveling iPhone owner. Best of all, the application is free! You’ll find it in the App Store (iTunes link).

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Gadling gear review: WorldNomads.com Spanish Language Guide Plus

by Scott Carmichael on

This very brief product review is going to show off a pretty neat iPhone application I recently took for a spin.

The WorldNomads.com Spanish Language Guide Plus offers several handy features in one; a 10 minute introduction to the language, a 550 word spoken reference and several sections dedicated to phrases you may need when shopping, flirting at a bar or on a work vacation.

The spoken reference guide is split up into eight sections (basics, introductions, directions, transport, places to stay, travel safety, travel health and food & eating).

In each section, you’ll find a well thought through selection of the kind of words and phrases you’ll end up needing when you are abroad (and don’t speak the language). The speech is very clear and the developers used real recordings instead of depending on speech synthesis.

The WorldNomads.com Spanish Language Guide Plus costs just $1.99 and is available in the app store (iTunes link). The price is right, the content is comprehensive and the entire application seems very well designed. Obviously, I hope they build on the quality of their Spanish guide and add more languages in the future.

After the jump, some more screenshots of the application. Pay extra attention to the “flirting phrases”, these people have obviously been around the world a bit, and know the kind of stuff that can really help you out. This certainly is the first language guide I’ve ever found that told me how to pronounce “I’m not just saying this because I am drunk” in the local language. You never know when that might come in handy!

Dexim P-Flip iPhone battery doubles as a portable dock

by Scott Carmichael on

There are quite a few iPhone/iPod touch battery packs on the market. They vary from the dull and mundane to the creative and innovative.

The new Dexim P-Flip folding power dock clearly falls in the latter. It is part battery pack, part charging dock and part syncing dock, all in one unit. It is available in three “flavors”:

  • The DCA165 includes the P-Flip dock and a 2000 mAh battery pack. It comes complete with an AC adapter and USB cable.
  • The DCA132 offers the same battery power, but comes in matte black, pearl black, pink, gold and silver.

The first of the docks (the DCA165) is available right now from Brookstone for $69.95. The battery inside the P-Flip is powerful enough to add about 8 hours of talk time to your device (or up to 15 hours of video / 80 hours of audio playback).

The best part of these docks is that they use a standard MiniUSB port for charging the battery, powering your iPod and syncing it, which means you can leave your iPod cable at home, and rely solely on the P-Flip.

By sitting the iPod upright (or on its side), you can also use it with one of the many alarm clock programs available from the app store, which means you can also leave your travel alarm at home.. The P-Flip works with all versions of the iPhone and iPod Touch.