On a recent road trip that I knew would take us onto mobile-service-challenged territory, I prepared my smartphone by going retro. It seemed appropriate. Ten years ago, there was no iPhone. Mobile data service was expanding, but most people didn’t rely on their phone for e-mail, Internet or watching videos. And on the roads less traveled today, you’ll still be lucky to make a voice call on a mobile phone. I rediscovered podcasts! I downloaded audiobooks. And I tried out a few apps that worked even without Internet service. If you’re about to go on a road trip (or travel internationally or even face a commute with challenging mobile service), here are a few apps to try out:
This American Life. Podcasts are great for road trips. But if you’re not a regular subscriber, some podcasts won’t let you download old episodes, like “This American Life.” For $3, you can listen to every episode if you have Internet and download up to five at a time to listen offline.
Pocket. A quick way to grab stories you want to read later is the Pocket app, which saves entire articles for viewing off-line (it saves videos, too, but you can’t view those offline). While several apps do the same thing, Pocket integrates with 500 other apps, including Flipboard, Pulse and Twitter. Yes, you can save Tweets to read later ( may be necessary).
Maps.me. Having a paper map as a backup would be the most retro, but Maps.me can also help you out in a dead spot. The app lets you download maps for major land masses, including Greenland. And then it offers a nifty routing tool that works even when you have no cell service. You’ll have to let it know where you are and where you want to go. The route then shows up right on the map.
Triposo. If your road trip takes you through unfamiliar territory and Yelp just won’t load, try Triposo. It’s like a slick travel guide that fits perfectly on a phone. Download cities or whole states ahead of time, and Triposo gives you offline access to top attractions, places to eat and sleep, and even the local time and weather. Places to eat include tags like “kid friendly” or “outdoor seating.” I’d say it’s a useful app even with data service.
Avenza. Another handy offline-map app gives you access to what appears to be scanned-in maps of national parks, hiking trails, transit routes and oddball maps like the 2014 Shryocks Corn Maze map. Some are free, others you can buy right in the app.
OverDrive. One of my go-to apps, OverDrive helps many of us check out ebooks and audio books from the local library. With a kid in tow, most of the books we listened to were classics and were readily available. If you can’t wait for a book to be available, there’s also Audible, the audiobook seller owned by Amazon. , — Tamara Chuang, The Denver Post
