In an economy like this one, what company can afford to send its employees on the road with suitcases full of high-tech gadgets? To cut costs, business travelers just need to tote an iPhone filled with applications that help them book airline flights, organize schedules and deliver presentations.
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Gregg Brockway, president of TripIt, a start-up that organizes travel itineraries online and on mobile devices, says iPhones are the greatest gadgets that business travelers don't know they have. "Smart-phone sales are up 80%, so the whole category is on fire," Brockway says. "But only a third of business travelers who have a smart phone realize that they can access the Internet. Of the business travelers who do realize, only 50% of them use their phones to actually access the Internet."
In Pictures: 12 iPhone Apps For Business Travelers
TripIt's iPhone application helps busy travelers stay on schedule, no matter how hectic that schedule may be. Here's how it works. "You buy your airline ticket from wherever," Brockway says. "When you get the confirmation, you e-mail it to us. Then we turn that e-mail into a master itinerary, and as you book more parts of your trip, like a hotel and a rental car, our technology puts it all together in one place."
It's not hard to see why TripIt's user base is 80% business and 20% leisure. "The road warriors are the ones who appreciate our application most," Brockway says. "The more you travel, the harder is it to remember where you're going next."
Carlos Gomez, the developer behind an application called MetropoliPhone, also created his app with business travelers in mind. MetropoliPhone provides travelers with instant access to maps of subway and transit systems from around the world. It comes in handy, he says, when navigating a new city, or just trying to get downtown from an unfamiliar airport in rush hour. "Trying to find subway maps via Google searches on a mobile device can be challenging, as many public transport Web sites are not optimized for mobile devices," Gomez says.
Mike Richard, editor of Vagabondish.com, agrees that iPhone apps have a lot of potential for business travel. When pressed, he admits to have a few favorites--like InstaMapper, an application that makes use of the iPhone 3G's GPS to turn phones into tracking devices. "This makes it easy to find your way back to your hotel," Richard says. On a recent trip, he learned the hard way the full extent of the InstaMapper app after he lost his phone in Philadelphia. "If you happen to lose your iPhone while out sightseeing, you can easily pinpoint its location via [the InstaMapper] Web site," he says.
Another useful business travel app: Say Who Dialer. The voice-recognition app lets you speak first names, last names and even nicknames into your iPhone, and it then pulls up a list of matching contacts. "I have over 1,000 contacts in my iPhone and sometimes finding one particular person or trying to remember exactly how to spell their last name is a tall order," Richard says.
Carrie Thompson, a writer for BusinessTravellogue.com who travels frequently for business, says the iPhone Maps function is indispensable . "As a person who is directionally challenged, I believe the Maps function is one of the greatest assets of the iPhone 3G," she says. "It is, in fact, the reason I decided to purchase the iPhone."
Thompson recently wrote about of the best iPhone apps for businesspeople in transit. Some of her picks include Stage Hand, a program that lets you control a Keynote presentation from your phone, and Sales & Commissions, which helps keep track of the commissions you've earned. Then there's drivers. "The road warriors out there will find this app useful as a log for mileage, gas, service and expenses," Thompson wrote. "It will even send you a reminder 20 days before your next service is due."
Although Thompson is sold on travel apps, she's not convinced that the iPhone is the best phone for businesspeople on the go. "As with all new technology, there are a few road bumps along the way," she said in an e-mail. "For those considering purchasing one for business, be sure to do your homework. AT&T is rapidly expanding its 3G network, but iPhone users are frequently complaining of dropped calls."
In Pictures: 12 iPhone Apps For Business Travelers
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