Happy New Year to you all!  I hope that the year is progressing as you would have to be, including all of the business travel you enjoy.

Having fallen in love with my iPhone at this point, I’ve decided to periodically review groups of iPhone apps that are applicable to business travelers.  My interest in reviewing apps is not just about the deals you’ll find, but how easy the apps are to use.

This month I’m reviewing a hotel booking apps that are tied to major travel websites whose names you’ll recognize.  I was prompted to pursue this idea by a hotel booking advertisement on TV that features two skydivers booking their hotel reservations just after jumping from their plane.  While we get to stay on airplanes until they land, I thought the metaphor of booking one’s hotel room while “flying” through the airport to grab a cab was appropriate.  Can I thumb-tap my way through the booking app while dragging my bags to the taxi stand?

The apps I have chosen to review are for aggregator sites.  As a business traveler I don’t usually use this type of site to book travel, unless I’m on a spontaneous or previously unplanned trip, where finding a deal on a hotel immediately is more important than finding a specific hotel in a particular neighborhood.

Six Hotel Booking Apps for iPhone

What startled me most about comparing these 6 apps is the wide variety of what they assume are traveler priorities.  This means that home screen layouts, navigation buttons, and how quickly one arrives at search results varies widely.  I’ve listed as bullet points the aspects of each app that made an impression as I tapped my way through them.

Note: these apps are mobile versions of websites that aggregate listings from multiple hotel sources, not apps for specific hotels.  I’ll review hotel-specific apps in a future newsletter.

www.Hotels.com

The app took 45 seconds to configure itself before displaying information the first time.  The app immediately asked to use my current GPS location.  Has Tonight’s Local Deals button on home screen Easy to filter by name, price range, rating, etc. Easy to sort by rating, distance from current location, guest ratings, etc. Regular search picks up current location, assumes 1 person for 1 night, but it’s easy to increase the number of nights, rooms, and people with a quick screen tap.  Results viewable as a list or as map locations.  Sign-in available to your existing Hotels.com account, or sign up on your iPhone.

www.Priceline.com

The app took 30 seconds to configure itself.  It asks to use your current location via GPS but doesn’t show local deals as a result.  Clicking the map locator button will then show local deals.  The app has 3 main navigation buttons:

- Negotiate: gets you prices for hotel rooms and the areas where they’re available.

- Radar: this feature (including a pinging sound) shows recent winning bids in the area and their prices.

- Browse gets you prices and locations for a “book immediately” option as opposed to bidding blindly.  You can filter by popularity, star rating, and neighborhood.  Prices shown are before local taxes.  Sign-in makes booking go more quickly, but booking without sign-in is available.  The home screen also has a car deals button.

www.Hotwire.com

The app takes about 30 seconds to configure itself.  It asks to detect and use your current GPS location.  The app immediately starts with requirements: assumes check-in date is today for 1 night, 1 person, 1 room, all easy to change from drop-down lists.  Shows number of results, then asks to list by price, star ratings; to filter by neighborhood or amenities.  No photos: this is a blind search.  When selecting by star rating, it shows price and neighborhood, but no hotel name or photo.  Amenities are listed.

www.Expedia.com

The app took 15 seconds to configure itself.  The app immediately asked to use GPS Showed hotel availability first based on GPS location rather than asking any details; 1 night, 1 person assumed, but buttons there to change those details.  Names, photos, ratings and prices are all immediately visible Sort and filter available Same list viewable as pins on a map Nice size photo slideshows; link to reviews on same screen Red pins indicate that prices are currently discounted

www.Kayak.com

Didn’t ask first for GPS, asked to send “push” notifications: alerts, sounds, and icon badges.  The app includes search for hotels, flights, cars, and a flight tracker.  The Hotel search came up with Los Angeles as the starting city, but when I challenged the location by tapping on the name, THEN it offered a GPS fix as an option.  The search assumed 1 person/night/bed.  The remainder of the list included thumbnail photos, prices, locations, and star ratings.  Buttons include Filter, Sort, Map, and Compare.  Filtering by stars meant UN-checking the star ratings you don’t want to see.  Filtering options included price, brands, and name but NOT location!  I was seeing Seattle hotels despite my Bellevue specification, and there are 15 miles and a body of water in between the two cities.  Half of the results listed were links to Hotwire deals.

www.TripAdvisor.com

The app took 15 seconds to configure itself.  The app asked to use GPS fix, and asked to send Push notifications.  This site relies heavily on user ratings.  Search menu options include hotels, restaurants, things to do, flights and a link to their user forum as a link to write a review.  Home screen buttons include Home, Near Me Now, and Faves buttons, with the search box at the top.  Hotel search asked for city, zip, address, or the option to use a checkbox called Near Me Now.  Ratings take precedence — links in hotel listings also to guest ratings are right there on the same screen.  Checking rates brings up tabs for Hotels.com, Expedia.com, Venere.com, Orbitz.com, the hotel’s website, Priceline.com, and Travelocity.com, each with their own deals listed.  Not all sites showed the details for the hotel you select; some provided their own listings for other hotels instead.  I would use this for ratings, but probably not for directly booking the room, since TripAdvisor is only a ratings service NOT a booking agent.

From a usability standpoint, I think the Hotels.com mobile site has the best, most compact design.  I found it easy to, with one or two taps, find a deal for the night.

Got a favorite travel app for iPhone, Android, or other smart phone?  Use the comment section on post to tell me which apps you like to use.

The power of the media is undeniable, especially these days when everyday people have access to a public platform, be it Facebook, Twitter, or their own websites and blogs.  Just a few days ago, Verizon Wireless announced that they were going to charge a US$2.00 convenience fee if their customers used a credit card to pay a single phone bill (as opposed to signing up for auto-pay).  In LESS than 24 hours, Verizon backed off and changed their minds about adding this fee.  Why?  Because the customer backlash was so great that it wasn’t worth the bad publicity.

As a business traveler, you probably have had more than one opportunity to grouse about the fees airlines have tacked onto the cost of travel.  Since we’re frequent travelers, we probably encounter them less often because our membership in mileage programs alleviate some of those fees.  But leisure travelers encounter them all the time, everything from asking for a real person at check-in to baggage fees to cancellation and rescheduling fees.

The Silent Traveling Majority?

So why don’t we hear about passenger backlash regarding fees?  Well, for one thing, leisure travelers aren’t “organized” — by definition they travel only occasionally, and usually accept what is imposed on them because they don’t have any leverage with the airline.

However, in the fall of 2010, a website called www.MadAsHellAboutHiddenFees.com used their website and media attention to put together 50,000 signatures and deliver them to the Department of Transportation in time for the close of public comments on a potential change of rules about airline fees.  In April 2011, the DOT issued a new set of rules that took effect in August 2011.  In case you missed hearing about them, here’s a short list:

• Bumping: The new rules raise the amount airlines must pay for “involuntary bumping of passengers.”  For short delays, you’ll be entitled to up to twice the amount of your ticket, up to $650.  For longer delays, you can get up to four times the ticket price, or up to $1,300.
• Tarmac delays: The new rules impose a four-hour limit on the time international flights can sit on the tarmac before allowing passengers to get off.  Domestic flights are limited to three-hour delays.
• Refund of bag fees if luggage is lost, but you’ll get your checked- bag fees refunded only if the airline permanently loses your luggage.

Two other rules were delayed until 2012:

• Advertised fares must include all government taxes and fees — no more misleading advertising that leave those fees off!
• Travelers have 24 hours to cancel non-refundable tickets without penalty.  Some airlines already do this, though you might not discover that fact unless you’ve had to cancel and you tried calling the airline hoping for mercy.  Now it’ll be a rule.

You can get a more detailed description here: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/travelwise/2015938600_trpucci21.html

Handling Grievances with the Airlines

Trying to get the attention of an airline when you have a problem can feel like being David and taking on Goliath.  Arm yourself with facts and knowledge of your airline’s procedures, and you stand a good chance of getting the remedy you seek.  Remember, David won over Goliath with a few well-placed stones!

Ticketing: Most airlines post links to Customer Service on their websites.  Among those pages you’ll find procedures for ticketing and pre-flight changes or refunds.

Baggage: Not every business traveler checks a bag or two (I usually have to), but if you do check yours and they go awry, it’s essential that you head straight for the baggage claim office and report it.  Thank goodness for bar-coding — most of the airlines can tell you WHERE your bag is, even if it’s not going to arrive anytime soon.

During Travel: If you don’t already have the phone numbers for your airline in your phone or PDA, take time before you leave to add them to your contacts.  Trying to track down that information is frustrating at best, and really inconvenient in the middle of a travel crisis.  When you fly internationally, be sure that you have the numbers on paper as well as in your phone/PDA, in case your battery runs out.

Be Persistent!

Don’t give up on getting a remedy for your issue with the airline.  Document every conversation (date, time, person you spoke to, etc.) so that you can impress the next person you talk to.  Be polite, be firm, and be consistent in your follow-up.

As for using the media (local consumer advocate, Facebook, Twitter, etc) to air your grievances, use that only as a LAST resort.  If you put something on the Internet, it’s there forever, and your angry words will probably come back to haunt you, even on an unrelated topic.

Got a travel horror story for which you eventually GOT a remedy?  I’d love to hear about it through your comments on this newsletter.

It’s that time of year again when our thoughts turn to gift-giving. Most of us in the USA grew up with the concept of Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, when workers who have the day off get out to the malls to take care of their shopping. With the arrival of Internet shopping, the idea of Cyber Monday was born. That’s the Monday after Thanksgiving, when we turn to the Internet to order gifts that we couldn’t find in the stores, or for gifts that are only available online. Buying on or around Cyber Monday ensures that your gifts will arrive in time, and you won’t be paying exorbitant shipping costs to get them there on time.

Cyber Monday was two days ago, so if you’re planning on ordering online, now’s the time. As business travelers, we rarely have time to sit still and focus on shopping. I decided to check out the websites of my favorite vendors to see if their mobile versions are up to snuff. Here’s what I found that you may also find useful. Some of these sites have gifts for family; some have gear for next year’s round of travel.

www.Amazon.com

What can you say about the world’s biggest online bazaar? When I first visited the website on my iPhone, I noticed their button advertising their Apps for Amazon. Below the Cyber Monday banner, the Kindle Fire ad, and the Apps button, I found a neatly organized list of categories, complete with sub-categories and a Search Amazon.com box right at the top. Tapping the Books category, I was taken to the Bestsellers list, from which I could also tap Search or Newest (list).

Having a compellingly well-organized mobile site makes it much easier to find what you’re looking for especially with a site the size of Amazon. Be careful what you purchase there, though; not everything is hosted AT Amazon. Items shipped by third-parties may take longer to arrive.

I did visit the iTunes store to see what apps they offered, but the only one that caught my interest enough to download it is their Amazon Fresh app. We here in the Seattle area are lucky enough to enjoy Amazon’s home grocery delivery service, Amazon Fresh, and I will make good use of that app year round.

www.BHPhotoVideo.com

I bought my big camera and most of my photography equipment from B&H Photo/Video out of New York. While I wasn’t crazy about paying for cross-country shipping, their service and selection are among the very best in any industry, so they are worthwhile. Like Amazon.com, they have a HUGE inventory, so searching and shopping requires you to use good keywords to find what you want.

Unlike Amazon, B&H doesn’t (yet?) Have a mobile version of their website, so be prepared to zoom and scroll a lot while shopping.

www.Buy.com

This website is one of two sites I check when it’s time to buy electronics and hardware over the Internet. Buy.com consistently has the best prices with the lowest shipping, and over time they’ve maintained that reputation.

The mobile Buy.com site is very compact. You’re immediately presented with a search box and an opportunity to browse by category. Buy.com also has an iPhone app.

www.eBags.com

That’s right eBAGS.com: this is one of my favorites shopping sites for travel gear. EBags’ success comes largely from their selection and their liberal return policy. In other words, order 3 of something if you’re not sure what’s going to work, and they’ll take the other 2 back (in good condition), no questions asked. The eBags mobile site is compact and well-organized, so you’ll be able to see decent sized images and details.

www.Ebay.com

Ebay has been doing a lot of television advertising around their mobile website, so I’m not surprised to see their long list of categories come up right away. They too have a mobile iPhone app. I might consider loading that one on my phone if I’m selling on Ebay, but as a buyer, not so much. One thing I do appreciate about their mobile site is that they include a link to their “classic” site, so that you’re not limited to the mobile version if you’d prefer to use the main site.

www.NewEgg.com

This is the other site I use for buying hardware, in particular. NewEgg has been around at least as long as Buy.com, and they’re usually very competitive in terms of price and service. As expected, they too have an iPhone app, which they offer you immediately on the home page. Below that are buttons for shopping the main site or shopping the mobile site. I chose the Mobile version, but was redirected to the same screen, no doubt hoping to induce me to download their iPhone app. I’m not going to load my phone up with shopping apps, so save NewEgg for a time when you can visit the site on your laptop.

www.LandsEnd.com

This website is my source for both comfortable clothing (I’m allergic to nearly everything except cotton), and great luggage. I’ve owned 2 complete sets of Lands’ End luggage and been very happy with both price and wearability. Their mobile site has finger-friendly categories, making it easy to browse the site without going somewhere you didn’t mean to visit. They too have a link to the full website.

www.Zappos.com

I have not purchased shoes myself from Zappos, but McAlister got a pair of steel-toe work shoes for his seasonal job this past summer, and he was able to find what he wanted in the sizes and colors he wanted from Zappos. I’m encouraged to try buying from Zappos myself; I have a hard time finding shoes I like, especially for travel.

Zappos also has an iPhone app, which they offered with a Download Now button. Below it they have a “No Thanks, I’ll just use the Browser” link, so I tapped that one to get started. With a series of dropdown selections, I was able to start browsing for a comfortable set of flats in no time.

What is your favorite mobile shopping website or app? Use the comments section below to submit yours, and I’ll add them to the resource list.

Toolie

I have long been an advocate of using mass transit while traveling. I’ve been on trains and subway systems all over the world. I know most of you would prefer to rent a car to get around, but sometimes that’s just not an option.

For me, planning a transit excursion was fun; coordinating time schedules, locating bus stops, determining connections and layovers. Transit schedules have been readily available on the Internet for close to 10 years now. Even in countries where English is not the primary language, signs are often posted in English as well for the convenience of visitors. I’ve been all over Hong Kong island by bus, and it’s a great way to see the city and feel like a local, even if you don’t look like a local.

I recently acquired a full-time, on-site consulting contract near my home and decided to use mass transit rather than commuting by car through what is one of the worst highway bottlenecks we have around here. The bus to my client’s location uses surface streets and back roads, so the commute is quick and painless. Of course getting up at 6 am is challenge for me, but one I am committed to overcoming.

Naturally I began planning for my commute using the online transit pages. I remembered that a colleague on my last contract mentioned an iPhone App that delivers real-time bus information to your device. I installed it then but didn’t have much use for it until now. Having figured out the route, the iPhone app would be helpful in knowing exactly when the busses would arrive.

That one “timeliness” feature turns out to be a godsend. It removes the anxiety and frustration of wondering 1) whether you missed your bus, and 2) when it’s really going to show up. What’s nice about this particular application is that it not only shows you the bus you’re expecting, but every arrival at that stop, in case using an alternate bus is an option.

Timeliness is Next to Godliness

For business travelers, getting there on time is everything. We usually schedule our trips down to the last minute if we can, hoping that everything goes as planned. I think more travelers would consider using mass transit as part of their plan if they knew that the transit was reliable and timely. There is good news on this front; the increase in smart phone usage has encourage app developers to produce more of these real-time transit applications for our use.

Seattle is a high-tech town, so I would expect there to be coverage like this available. I went searching through iTunes, though, to see what other cities might have apps covering their territory. Naturally, having apps developed would depend on how much the local population depends on mass transit and/or how good the transit coverage is. As you might expect, the larger metropolitan areas have many apps available for download (most of them free). For example:

New York City Subways
Long Island Railroads
New Jersey Transit (Rail)
New Jersey Transit (Bus)
PATH Train (New Jersey to New York)

SE Pennsylvania Transit (SEPTA)
Washington DC Metro
NextBus DC

Chicago L (eLevated trains)
Chicago Transit Authority (CTA)
METRA: Long-distance Northeastern Illinois trains

San Francisco (bus)
CalTrain: SF commuter rail
Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) around San Francisco
San Jose (bus)

But there are applications available for other metro areas as well.
Here is a partial list:

Denver
Los Angeles
Greater Boston (MBTA)
Miami-Dade County
Sacramento
San Diego
Seattle/Puget Sound

And don’t forget cities outside the USA:

Taipei
Bangkok

These are just the cities whose applications included the name of the city. There are dozens more applications in the list that didn’t include the city or region name, such as mine, titled “OneBusAway.”

These are just the iPhone applications — I saw many of the same apps in the Android Market as well.

Most of us travel pretty compactly, so hoisting a bag onto a transit bus isn’t any more difficult than hoisting it onto a hotel shuttle (except that you have to do it yourself). With the availability of this real-time transit information, the option to use mass transit on your next business trip should be seriously considered.

I invite you to jump on and enjoy the ride.

As a resident of the Seattle area, there are two big business influences on us: Microsoft — where I used to work, and Boeing — on whose planes I’ve flown the most.

This past Wednesday, the first 787 Dreamliner rolled out of the hangar in Everett, Washington (about 30 miles north of my home) in a special celebration with the CEOs of All Nippon Airways (ANA) and Boeing, along with the workers who produced the airplane. I watched a summary video of the celebration on the Boeing website, and I have to admit I felt a certain pride in being a resident here. When there’s a downturn in the airline business, we all feel it. Now that Boeing was able to finally deliver this plane, everyone who lives here is breathing a sigh of relief! I’m especially proud because they pulled it off despite the current economy.

I am looking forward to the days when the first 787s are delivered domestically, because I want to ride in one! When I travel internationally I look for flights with the Boeing 777 because I love how that plane is put together. I can only imagine how wonderful the 787s are going to be when we here in Seattle get to ride in one.

Improvements in the Airplane

The first thing I noticed on the Boeing videos is the in-seat entertainment. For Economy class, there are individual video screens in the headrest of the seat in front of you. I also noted ample storage bins, roomy lavatories, and tinted windows! No more having to sit in the dark just to be able to see the video screens. The windows are 30% larger, for those who want to look outside, and there are improvements to the Rolls Royce airplane engines that offer a smoother ride.

The new plane uses LED lighting instead of fluorescent lighting, which gives it a softer glow and lower electrical consumption. Personally, I’m looking forward to that — fluorescent lighting makes you look even worse than you already do after flying all night on an airplane.

Here is the micro-site for the airplane on ANA’s website. It will detect your language and display English, if that’s your default.

Http://www.ana.co.jp/787/

We Get Around

Among the destinations listed for this plane are cities within Japan, as well as Hong Kong and Frankfurt. According to the CEO of ANA, “The B787 is considered a medium-size aircraft but it can travel more than 52 per cent further than a similarly sized B767, while using 20 per cent less fuel. This brand new aircraft presents a new business opportunity for us to open new routes that would not have been viable before and gives us the chance to expand our network.”

That’s a really critical issue these days. The cost of fuel is already high, so a plane that can travel further and save 20% on fuel costs is a welcome addition to the skies. One can only hope that it might ultimately mean cost savings passed on to the passengers. (Hey, I’m an optimist!)

I am pleased to report that one of the 787s currently in production is scheduled for United, so I look forward to getting on that plane in due course.

This has been a tough year for natural disasters, from earthquakes to tsunamis to hurricanes. With the 10th anniversary of 9/11 just a few weeks away, we are reminded that their are unnatural disasters also that also threaten human lives.

I remember taking a first-aid class when I was a teen, then a cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) class as a young adult. Most of those techniques have been updated, especially CPR guidelines that were just changed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9T25SMyz3A

As business travelers, it occurs to me that our smart phones could go a long way towards providing information to help us in emergencies. Yes, we check them for delayed flights and weather information — you probably already have a good weather app on your phone. But what about first aid? If you were caught in a life-threatening situation, could you be helpful? If someone was bleeding, would you know what to do?

Weather Apps for iPhone, Blackberry, and Android

Let’s cover the weather apps first. With Hurricane Irene’s devastation fresh in our minds, I was not surprised to see that the hurricane- tracking apps on iTunes were VERY popular.

• http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/hurricanehunterappcolallc/id456831217?mt=8 
• http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/hurricane-express/id457745719?mt=8
• http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/noaa-radar-us/id415411639?mt=8

I also realized that I should include apps for other platforms in my newsletter, so here’s a selection.

iPhone apps

• http://www.weather.com/services/iphone.html
• http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the-weather-channel/id295646461?mt=8
• http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/myweather-mobile/id435025246?mt=8

Blackberry

• http://www.weatherbug.com/mobile/blackberry/
• http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/1191?lang=en
• http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/3624?lang=en

Android

• http://www.weather.com/services/android.html
• https://market.android.com/details?id=com.aws.android.elite&feature=search_result
• https://market.android.com/details?id=com.accuweather.android&feature=search_result

Medical/First Aid Apps for iPhone, Blackberry, and Android

There were several categories of applications that could be helpful for disaster situation: disaster planning, first aid, and triage. Because I’m focused on in-the-moment concerns, I focused on the last 2 categories.

Blackberry

• http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/3779?lang=en
• http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/44226?lang=en
• https://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/48484?lang=en

Android

• https://market.android.com/details?id=me.jive.firstaid&feature=search_result
• https://market.android.com/details?id=com.phoneflipper&feature=related_apps
• https://market.android.com/details?id=com.healthagen.iTriage&feature=related_apps

iPhone

• http://www.phoneflips.com/2011/first-aid/
• http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mobile-first-aid-cpr/id380724565?mt=8
• http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/itriage/id304696939?mt=8

Pre-Disaster Planning

It wouldn’t feel right if I did leave out disaster planning — or rather pre-disaster planning. The US Government has an entire website devoted to disaster preparedness. As business travelers, we may not be home when disaster strikes, so making sure that your family is OK without is really important.

http://www.ready.gov

I highly recommend following their recommendations to ensure your family’s safety. I did find a mobile version of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s website that corresponds to this website.

http://m.fema.gov

Let me say that I hope you never need these resources, but I also encourage you to be prepared.

It’s been an odd day today. I heard a sound in my office that has NEVER been heard before: the startup sound of a Mac Mini! I inherited my Dad’s Mac Mini after he passed away in January, and this is the first time I’ve had both the room and the time to set it up (I’m using it for testing websites on Mac browsers). Exposure to The Fruit Side has been an interesting and engaging experiment.

I am pleased to say that I have resisted buying a bunch of apps for the iPhone, but I have been looking through the iTunes App Store and collecting items that may be helpful for business travelers BESIDES the obvious travel guides and airline sites. Skip the iTunes desktop application and go straight to the Apple website:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/genre/mobile-software-applications/id36?mt=8

These are the apps on my iPhone now:

eSpeakers
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/espeakers/id426816714?mt=8
This application goes with the eSpeakers service of which I am a subscriber. The National Speakers Association utilizes eSpeakers to manage their member profiles, but the eSpeakers app has so much more: schedules, booking dates, and so on. It was a natural fit for my business.

Facebook
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/facebook/id284882215?mt=8
Good grief, I might actually be able to keep up with social networking on Facebook! Having the free Facebook app makes it easy to fill up the loose time slots while waiting for ground transportation with messages to friends, reading the streamed comments, and so on.

LinkedIn
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/linkedin/id288429040?mt=8
I plan to do more on LinkedIn than I have in the past, so having this free app on the phone is also quite helpful.

Mobile Notifier
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mobile-notifier/id343067381?mt=8
This little app tells me when a purchase has been made through my shopping cart. One has to have an account with 1ShoppingCart or one of the private label companies, which I have had for 7 years. It’s great to hear the sound of money depositing into my account.

Skype
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/skype/id304878510?mt=8
I have a number of people I keep up with on Skype, and the fact that you can conduct free video calls from your phone over an Internet connection WITHOUT the computer is just aces!

QR Reader for iPhone
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/qr-reader-for-iphone/id368494609?mt=8
I haven’t had occasion to see many of these QR codes, but starting the app and pointing your iPhone at the code will immediately open the corresponding website. I plan to add the QR code for my website to my business card.

Camera Zoom 3
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/camera-zoom-3/id311657409?mt=8
I’ve missed a number of photos that I could have captured if I had just taken time to download a better camera application. This one has been around a long time, and the zoom works really well.

Here are some that look intriguing that I have not yet downloaded.

FedEx Mobile for iPhone
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/fedex-mobile-for-iphone/id304462049?mt=8
When I’ve shipped boxes to or from my destination and I need to know how they’re doing, this application ought to do the trick!

USPS Mobile
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/usps-mobile/id339597578?mt=8
Same here: if I need to find a post office to mail something home, this little app would be very helpful!

OneBusAway
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/onebusaway/id329380089?mt=8
As gas prices rise, I’m experimenting with using public transit more around the Seattle area, and I found this real-time application for transit that covers Puget Sound. There are more apps like this for other areas.

What is YOUR favorite business travel-related application? Comment below so that we can all benefit!

Toolie®

Well, I’ve made it through the first month with the iPhone, and so far we’re getting along. I’ve not been this deep into Fruit Territory in a long, long time. I’m a Windows geek, not an Apple devotee, but I’m willing to adapt. <grin>

Part of the reason for switching to the iPhone at this point was because I needed to use text messaging a lot for my consulting, and the old Windows Mobile phone was dying on me. The iPhone has a nice interface for text messaging, but I keep sending all kinds of odd messages because I “fat-finger” that tiny keyboard.

Computing Before There Were Mice

Yes, Virginia, there was a time when computers did NOT have a mouse driving the interface. In fact was a little over 20 years ago that Windows 3.1 came out, and I knew that computing would change forever. Yes, I know that both Microsoft and Apple had a mouse well before that, but because of the pervasiveness/market share of Windows, the arrival of a decent Windows mouse-driven interface, the culture shifted radically.

To this day, I’m a two-fisted computer user: I regularly use keyboard shortcuts with the mouse to write and move around the interface quickly. In fact I urge my clients to use these shortcuts because they’re concentrated where you type with your left hand. I’m taking about the usual Ctrl+S for Save, Ctrl+C for Copy, Ctrl+V for paste, and so on. You’d be surprised how many people do NOT use them!

With all of this background information I am leading up to the punch line: I bought a mini-keyboard for my iPhone. Now before you fall off your chair with laughter, hear me out.

I’m sitting at a desk a lot these days, so text messaging with colleagues and clients means picking up the phone and trying to aim at that tiny keyboard with hands that can easily play octaves on the piano. I was not blessed with dainty fingers, I was blessed with pianist’s fingers. So that frustration lead me to conclude that finding some kind of thumb keyboard would be a good idea for me.

I haven’t yet bought a hard, protective case for the phone, so the first keyboard I looked at was attached to a hard case. That would make the phone and keyboard function as one item instead of two. I ordered the TK-421 Bluetooth Keyboard/Case from www.ThinkGeek.com for iPhone 3GS.

Http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/cellphone/e66e/images/8108/

This particular keyboard appealed to me because it had a thumb-style size and functionality. The problem was that the keyboard swiveled out from underneath instead of opening like a clamshell. The keyboard itself was lighter than the phone, so it kept falling forward out of my hands. I had a hard time turning the keyboard’s Bluetooth on, though pairing happened quite easily. After working with the keyboard for 24 hours or so, I went shopping again.

I found that the keyboard portion was available separately from several vendors, but I just didn’t like that keyboard at all, separate or attached. After exhausting all the possibilities in the $35 price range, I decide to move up in size and cost, and I ordered the Verbatim Bluetooth keyboard from www.Buy.com.

http://www.buy.com/prod/verbatim-wireless-bluetooth-mobile-keyboard-for-iphone-ipad-ipad-2-and/q/loc/101/220011486.html

This keyboard is bigger than the phone; in fact the keys are almost full-size with a few exceptions. It comes with its own case, but it’s small enough to fit in my purse on the go. What’s REALLY fun is that hidden in the keyboard’s case is a fold-out stand for the iPhone that holds it in a suitable position for viewing while typing.

Turning the keyboard on is quite easy, pairing with the iPhone is a no-brainer, and with a little concentration, I can type quite quickly for emails, text messages, and writing my book.

Writing My Book on the iPhone

Yes, I am writing a book. Will I write it entirely on the iPhone? Probably not. But, having the keyboard with the iPhone turns it from a text-messaging machine to a mini-computer capable of capturing my chapters without breaking a sweat. I visited the iTunes App Store and found a simple word processing application that cost me US$3.99.

http://www.bytesquared.com/products/doc/iphone/

Because I write for the Internet, I’m used to using a text-only word processor. I write more quickly that way anyway since I’m not fiddling with formatting, so having an iPhone word processor that lets me put in bulleted lists and bold text is just fine! It interoperates with Word 2003-2010, so I can sync with my desktop and use the files there.

Typing with the iPhone on an Airplane

If you think that first-class passengers have more room on their tray tables for their laptops, let me correct this notion immediately! Maybe it’s just me, but I always seem to end up behind the traveler who has decided to kick back. They recline all the way in celebration of their spacious seat, and whatever hope I had for opening my laptop quickly goes away. But there WOULD be room for my iPhone and this mini-keyboard, even in Coach. Just imagining this wonderful scenario gave me hope of recovering all those lost minutes we spend in transit, without having to boot up the laptop!

For Me It’s iPhone Productivity Anywhere

I have a consulting contract now that sometimes has me hanging around waiting for meetings. I didn’t dare bring my Toolie business laptop to the consulting location, but I could pull out my iPhone and keyboard and none would be the wiser! I also think about returning to my satellite office (the local Red Robin) to do my planning sessions because I can access my client management website with my iPhone and keyboard. This particular Red Robin doesn’t have wireless Internet (yet), but I do get a cell signal, so I can fire up the iPhone and get answers when I need them.

OK, Maybe One More Accessory

I admit that the iPhone screen is pretty small — not the best for writing, but if I could get the phone up to eye level, that would be really helpful. Apparently a few other people had the same idea, because I found this accessory online.

Http://www.goilevel.com/

This iLevel clamp-on stand wouldn’t fit in my purse, but it would fit in carry-on luggage quite nicely. And on the treadmill. And on my desk. I haven’t bought it yet — I still feel silly trying to use the iPhone as a mini-computer. But those feelings will probably change as I embrace my iPhone Productivity Project and the possibility of actually getting my book written!

Do you use a keyboard with your iPhone? Tell us about it in your comments below.

I’m not used to being late to the technology party: I just got my first iPhone this month. McAlister has giggled over his iPhone for the last 3 years (http://www.tooliethetravelguide.com/blog/2008/08/email-windows-mobile- and-the-iphone/ ) and that was OK with me. He’s a Mac guy, and while I might have been somewhat jealous, I had other priorities for my phone.

For someone who has relinquished the techie life for his art studio, and claims that he doesn’t want to be thought of as a tech guy, McAlister sure loves his iPhone. He keeps it with him ALL the time. Even when he’s in Sculpture Class or at the pub afterwards with his friends, if some subject comes up in conversation that requires fact- checking, all heads turn towards McAlister, who by then has his iPhone in hand and is looking up the facts on the Internet.

Good Old Windows Mobile — a Mainstay

My old Windows Mobile phone served me well for years. A couple of months ago, I thoughtlessly left it on the top of my car as I pulled out of the driveway. The phone hung on for dear life as I drove downhill, but when I hit the curve at the bottom, it went flying off the roof and skidded on the pavement. It horrible to see (out of the corner of your eye) your phone flying towards the asphalt when you’re powerless to stop it!

When I realized what happened, I stopped, turned around, and went back to find the phone. Miraculously, I found all of the pieces of the phone: the battery, the back cover, even the stylus, and put it all back together. The phone was working!! It was a little scuffed, but it survived.

A few months later I lost the stylus for the fourth time, and this time I decided not to try to replace it. The designers of the phone had, for some inexplicable reason, decided that it should fit in the lower right corner of the phone, upside down, and once the plastic holding it in place gave up, bye-bye stylus!

The next sign of imminent cell phone death was the difficulty in using the slide out keyboard. The left corner of the keyboard was the point of impact from its flight off the car. The little Function key that provided the numbers and alternate characters I needed for text input of any kind was in that very corner of the phone. The damage really became an issue when I took on a short-term, full-time consulting contract and text-messaging became our virtual team’s primary method of contact. Mobile communications were becoming the norm again in my life, and I had to act.

Cell Phone Waiting Game

I’ve been involved with Windows Mobile since the very beginning. Back when I was working at Microsoft on the Visual C++ team, I worked with the marketing guy who was preparing presentations on the Mobile portion of this development tool. We were teaching developers how to write applications for the first versions of Windows phones back in

1995. I got to play with some of those early devices, and I was hooked. For years afterwards, I tried to find a job on the Windows Mobile team, but never found one for which I was qualified.

When the iPhone first came out, I was interested, of course, but I wasn’t crazy about the usability (this is one of my specialties). Give me a keyboard, people! I need a stylus! As the iPhones improved, they got my further attention because it appeared that one really could manipulate the on-screen keyboard with sufficient dexterity.

My next objection was the fact that one HAD to sign with AT&T to get service. I specifically left AT&T for Sprint 12 years ago because AT&T insisted that I get a new phone! At that time, AT&T was tying specific service plans to specific phones, and apparently my phone at the time didn’t qualify. I got a phone call from AT&T when I was visiting my alma mater, Wheaton College. The operator asked for my EIN number, then informed me that I would have to change service plans or change phones. I told them that if I had to change phones, I would also change carriers. I did.

So now it’s May 2011, and I have a dying phone. The last straw was seeing the offer for $49 for an iPhone 3GS. No, it’s not the latest iPhone, but it’s a decent phone, and I had to make a choice. So, I went over to the Fruit Side.

The Fruit Side?

If you’re a staunch Windows person, then using an Apple/Mac product MAY be referred to by your equally staunch Windows friends as “going to the dark side,” an oblique “Star Wars” reference. Mac people will say the same about using Windows products: no surprise there. Since I already own 2 iPods and live with 3 Macs on the network in my house AND live with a Mac Guy, I decided not to refer to my iPhone purchase as “going to the dark side.” Instead, I’ve simply gone to the Fruit Side. Hey, I’m even planning to install in my office the Mac Mini I got back from my Dad after he passed away in January. As a responsible web designer, I have to test my designs on as many platforms and browsers as I can. Now I won’t have to run upstairs to McAlister’s computer to check my sites on his Mac.

Mobile communications on cool devices like the iPhone, Blackberry, Android, and others have shifted the way business travelers operate. You can see now on your phone travel information similar to what I was preparing in my travel guides, only instantly and wirelessly from a vast repository of travel data. I’ve just begun to explore the available travel apps in the iTunes App Store, though I’ve spotted the TripIt app that goes with my subscription. Facebook and LinkedIn are already on my iPhone (I might get some social media marketing done after all), but since I have ONLY 8 gigabytes of space (hee hee), I’m being careful. More importantly, I’m being careful of my TIME and trying to not waste it on apps that won’t get me to my destination efficiently.

The App Store: it truly is a techie playground. I have a feeling I’ll be writing more about my iPhone adventures in the months to come.

Last month I talked about disaster planning for business travelers, in light of the tragic events in Japan. This month I want to address a wise practice that can be beneficial to international travelers.

Travel Registration for International Travelers

The US State Department has a special section in their website devoted to US residents who travel outside the country: http://travel.state.gov. There are many resources on this site, such as passport information, travel advisories, visa information, and the locations and addresses of embassies and consulates around the world.

I was going through their website today looking at information about what the US embassies and consulates can do in a crisis such as the earthquake in Japan when I noticed a link to something called the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program. Formerly known as “Travel Registration” or “Registration with Embassies,” the STEP program the sends its registrants the most current information they compile about the country or countries where you may be traveling or living. They also send updates including Travel Warnings and Travel Alerts (where appropriate).

For nearly all of my international visits, I looked up the nearest embassy or consulate, but I was never gone long enough to feel like I needed to register my trips. Now that the Internet makes registration much easier, there’s no reason not to do so.

Registration in Under 5 Minutes

The registration process at the US State Department website took me less than 5 minutes, once I found my passport. The website requires your passport number, date of issuance, and date of expiration, along with your date of birth and address information.

Who Gets to Know?

Once you reach the summary screen, there’s a privacy notice which you must acknowledge. I copied it here for your convenience:

================================
Privacy Act Information

The U.S. Department of State is committed to ensuring that any personal information received by our overseas embassies and consulates pursuant to the STEP process, whether in person or otherwise, is safeguarded against unauthorized disclosure. The data that you provided the U.S. Department of State is subject to the provisions of the Privacy Act (5 USC 552a). This means that the U.S. Department of State will not disclose the information you provide us in your STEP application to any third parties unless you have given us written authorization to do so, or unless the disclosure is otherwise permitted by the Privacy Act.

AUTHORITY: 22 U.S.C. 2715 and 22 U.S.C. 4802(b).

PURPOSE: To notify U.S. citizens in the event of a disaster, emergency or other crisis, and for evacuation coordination, the information solicited on this form may be made available as a routine use to appropriate agencies whether federal, state, local, or foreign, to assist the Department in the evacuation or provision of emergency service to U.S. citizens, or for law enforcement purposes. The information is also made available to private U.S. citizens, known as wardens, designated by U.S. embassies to assist in communicating with the American community in an emergency.
================================

On that screen you can tell the government whether they are allowed to release this information to anyone. Choices included family members, friends, medical and legal representatives, among others. If I find myself in a disaster area while traveling, these are the people I would want to know where I was.

Add Trip Information to the Site

Once you have registered this basic information, you can later add specific travel information. The website says:

================================
This Wizard will guide you through the steps to add a new trip to your account. Please note that you will need the following information to complete the form:

• Itinerary/Residence Information

• Information about anyone who may be traveling with you (if you are adding a trip)

• Information about members of your household (if you are adding a foreign residence) ================================

Once the trip or residency is complete, you can log back into the site and delete the information.

Do Other Countries Have Traveler Registration?

The short answer is YES, they do. Finding the exact websites for other countries was a bit of a challenge, even with my multiple language skills. Thank goodness my Google toolbar includes an amazingly good translation feature. I was in most cases able to find basic information about traveler registration. In some cases, I found the actual registration portal. Some of these URLs are pretty long, so if you click them and they don’t work, copy the entire URL into your browser’s address bar and press Enter or Return to go to the site.

USA:
http://travel.state.gov/travel/tips/registration/registration_4789.html

Canada:
http://www.voyage.gc.ca/register/

France:
http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/conseils-aux-voyageurs_909/index.html http://www.mfe.org/index.php/Annuaires/Ambassades-et-consulats-francais-a-l-etranger

Germany:
http://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/EN/Laenderinformationen/DtAuslandsvertretungenA-Z-Laenderauswahlseite_node.html

http://www.konsularinfo.diplo.de/__Zentrale_20Komponenten/Ganze__
Seiten/de/Krisenvorsorgeliste/__Krisenvorsorgeliste.html?site=361719

Italy:
http://www.consboston.esteri.it/Consolato_Boston/Templates/Pagina_Interna.aspx?NRMODE=Published&NRNODEGUID=%7b68015AF9-140D-4927-A7F5-ECBCD087AE78%7d
&NRORIGINALURL=%2fConsolato_Boston%2fMenu%2fI_Servizi%2fPer_i_cittadini%2fAnagrafe

UK:
https://www.locate.fco.gov.uk/locateportal/

Australia:
https://www.orao.dfat.gov.au/orao/weborao.nsf/homepage?Openpage

New Zealand:
http://www.safetravel.govt.nz/register.shtml

Hong Kong:
http://www.gov.hk/en/residents/immigration/outsidehk/roti.htm

Have you registered with your government’s traveler registry? Have you needed the help of a consulate or embassy on one of your travels? Reply with a comment about your experience.