June 04, 2007

New travel tech: better maps, fare finders, GPS gear

There are a number of new travel sites and gadgets out there worth a look-see, including these:

NewYorkonTap launches a new set of tools you can add directly to the Google search page to show the nearest subway locator, subway directions, estimated travel time, bar search ... and an accurate, dynamically changing view of the Empire State Building.

Google Street View lets you see a 360 of Times Square, tunnel entrances that are illegal to photograph and cruise all of Broadway in 4 minutes and 38 seconds. (Microsoft plays, too.)

Yapta.com finds your travel deals and even helps you get cash back after you booked a flight.

TripBase tells you where you want to go.

Schmapplets lets you create customizable maps of places you've been or want to go.

New e-mail feature at Farecast predicts if an airfare price will rise or fall in the next week.

JetBlue flights are now available on Expedia and Hotwire.

BudgetTravel magazine runs down a list of the best stuff a traveler should have on his PDA, cell phone or Blackberry. (Via Gadling.)

Apple lets you set up an instant wireless network.

Skeevy hotel? Bring your own door-stop alarm.

Designed for tourists, the Traveller GPS navigation system is made from E-paper so it can fold and close like a paperback.

Wired says the Audio-Technica ATH-ANC7 are the best new noise-canceling headphones (Via Gadling.)

Delta Twitters, and launches video podcasts, including an NYC shopping guide at SiteSeer.

Gridskipper redesigns, gets a New York homepage.

American Airlines overhauls its website.

Not that you should be driving in NYC, but ... you can find cheap gas prices on your phone, get a parking timer keychain, and NYC Garages lets you compare and contrast prices. (Via National Geographic Traveler.)

Wall Street Journal on who users trust on TripAdvisor.com:

The reviewer's hometown can count even within the U.S. Bob McDevitt (whose screen name is Cap10Bob), doesn't believe anything written by a New Yorker. The 58-year-old salesman from Boston says "people from there wouldn't like anything anyway."

June 4, 2007 11:54 AM in Arrivology, Maps, Techology

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