VISITING VANCOUVER? THERE'S AN APP ...

English Bay, Vancouver

IMAGE: © Photos by Pharos (Julie H. Ferguson) 2009

Tourism Vancouver's new Visit Vancouver iPad app is a sleek trip planning tool bringing maps, video, photo galleries and travel tips to your fingertips. Released in summer 2012, the app was designed for maximized use both on and offline -- meaning, no expensive data roaming while you're exploring Vancouver. And the best part? It's free. Download it from Apple's iTunes store. 
Also visit www.tourismvancouver.com. 

DICTATING YOUR BLOG POSTS ON THE ROAD

I've just found a fantastic free app for my iPad/iPhone from Nuance, the company that created the Dragon Naturally Speaking software.

Why is this so exciting for travelers?

I post every day on this travelog when I'm on the road as a means of remembering everything I see and do, so when I'm home I can write better articles and keep track of my photographs.This means considerable time spent writing every evening.The Dragon Dictation app is simple and very, very accurate. I didn't have to train it to my voice, it worked from the get-go after I chose the type of English I speak (UK). I can copy the text Dragon produces right into my blog. Yes, I will have to check it for punctuation and the occasional spelling mistake, as well add links and images, but what a time-saver this app will be.

Which is why I'm letting all my traveling colleagues know about it!