A number of my trips overseas suffered from the lack of Internet connectivity, making it difficult to check for local interests whenever it comes to travel apps that require Internet connection, especially those that have maps. Well, I’ll be heading to Hong Kong tomorrow (lol, indie game developers over there, here’s your chance for a meet-up), and I’ll be bringing several apps with me that will hopefully ease the pain.
First up is Lonely Planet Hong Kong. At USD 5.99 (click here), it’s a bit pricy but beats lugging a thick paperback book around. This e-book app contains plenty of information (as expected from a high-priced travel book) and features an offline map. OK, the second map is a little more interesting. In preparation for the Hong Kong trip, I took the liberty of marking down places of interest on a map I created on Google Maps.
To view these places offline I use My Maps by Ruths R & D (USD 1.99, here) . Basically what it does is it downloads the places onto a map hosted on the iDevice. You can then download the map tiles (courtesy of OpenStreetMap). The download of tiles can be an intensive one, depending on the area and the zoom level that you require, so I really recommend that you do so before your trip. I’m doing it now while I’m sitting here at the dining table typing this post out.
Last but not least, is the MTR Mobile app, which is basically a guide to Hong Kong’s train system. It’s the only free app in the list (check it out here), but it contains a journey planner and station information. Fortunately for me, I’ll be grabbing one of those maps (being able to read maps is a blessing on this kind of trip), so I wouldn’t be draining juice from the iPhone just by relying on these apps.
What else do you think I should be loading up on the iPhone?
