Photos: 20 essential iPhone apps for business travel

From knowing what not to do in a foreign culture to keeping track of your expenses...

iPhones have become the smartphone of choice for many business users, making working on the move easier.

But there's more to making business travel a breeze than just the ability to access your documents and email. The following 20 apps will help you transform your iPhone into the ideal travel companion for working away from the office.

Airline Seat Guide

A bad seat on a plane can mean the difference between a comfortable nap on the plane and a long-haul flight nightmare. Thankfully, CXI Gaming have developed an app to help you find what seats to ask for.

The app maps out the seating plans of over 1,200 aircrafts used by more than 100 airlines.

The seat plans include information on proximity to toilets, availability of power outlets and whether or not your seat will recline.

British Airways

Doing away with paper tickets is always handy for frequent travellers, giving you fewer things to remember to take with you and subsequently lose - and the British Airways app does just that.

The app allows users to forgo a physical boarding pass in favour of one stored on a machine-readable QR code. The app also links to arrival and departure information as well as BA tweets so you can keep check on any potential delays or problems with your flight.

Business Trip

Keeping track of expenses incurred during a business trip may not be your top priority when you're jumping from 'working lunches' to 'company hospitality', but come expenses deadline time, you'll regret not being able to claim back that business-critical bottle of wine.

The Business Trip app can help with making calculating your expenses a bit easier. Expenses can be recorded under categories including airfare, car rentals, entertainment and lodging.

Convert

Converting currency exchange rates in your head can be an imprecise art at the best of times, and even harder for frequent travellers who may have to deal with multiple foreign currencies in quick succession.

The Convert app does the arithmetic for you and can either convert currencies based on market rates or can be manually set to use the exchange rate at which you purchased a currency.

The app automatically downloads market exchange rates every 12 hours and provides conversion results as you type.

Embassy UK

Unless you work at one, embassies are the kind of thing you only think about when you really need their help, in which case you probably don't want to waste time tracking one down.

The Embassy UK app contains the location and contact details of every British embassy and consulate across the world so you don't have to worry about being stranded if you lose your passport. Handily, the app works without the internet so can be used by even the most remote traveller.

TripIt

TripIt is the must-have app for frequent travellers who need to keep track of flights, accommodation, dinner reservations, event tickets and anything else you may have booked for your travels.

The app automatically uploads all your trip details from confirmation emails you forward to it. Keeping everything in one place not only makes it easier to plan for your trip, but also reduces the need to go trawling through your inbox to find where you're meant to be and when.

Itineraries can also be shared with family or colleagues driect from the app or through Facebook or LinkedIn.

FlightTrack Pro

FlightTrack Pro provides a wealth of information on airports and flights - useful if you're flying yourself or picking someone up at the arrivals gate.

The app provides live information from over 4,000 airports worldwide including the status for gates, delays and cancellations.

FlightTrack Pro includes predictions on airport delays and push flight alerts so there's less risk of turning up to an airport only to hang around needlessly. FlightTrack Pro can also sync with TripIt itineraries so you can integrate all your travel information.

Foursquare

This app lets you find out if anyone you know is nearby - handy for those travelling alone or looking to get away from the people they've just spent the day brainstorming with.

The app also gives insider tips from people on your network about where to eat, as well as other places to check out.

Heathrow Express

Like the BA app, this app reduces the need for paper tickets and provides a convenient way to purchase tickets for the Heathrow Express. Extra handy if you've just got off a sleepless 13-hour flight.

London Tube Deluxe

An app for anyone who relies on the London Underground network, London Tube Deluxe provides live information on departure boards, delays and planned closures.

The app also includes a journey-planning feature which does not need an internet connection to work, enabling users to plan journeys around unexpected delays when travelling on the Tube itself.

OpenTable

The OpenTable app allows you to find and make dinner reservations based on your location.

Enter the time you want to eat and how many people you want to book for and OpenTable displays restaurants available in your area.

Results can be refined by food type and price, and reviews are provided for many of the restaurants featured - ideal for those travelling somewhere new.

Skype

Making phone calls from abroad can be costly, so opting for a VoIP call instead can be a money-saving measure for frequent travellers near a wi-fi connection.

Tipulator

Tipulator is a simple app that makes calculating a tip and splitting the bill a piece of cake.

The app gives you several options to change what percentage you want to tip, whether you want to round the tip up or down and how many people you want to split the bill with.

TomTom US & Canada

While this is an expensive app at £34.99, if you plan on driving around the US or Canada it may be worth the extra.

The app turns your iPhone into a sat-nav with clear onscreen directions as well as the voice commands you would expect from a regular TomTom device.

The app allows for multitasking so you can make phone calls while the app continues to provide background navigation instructions. The app will also navigate you around traffic jams.

UK Train Times

Like a train version of FlightTrack Pro, this app is great for anyone catching a train or meeting someone who is arriving.

The live departures board can tell you where to make a quick dash for a train when you don't have time to hunt out the departure board in the station, while the live progress feature lets you keep tabs on a train you need to meet.

The app also includes a journey-planning feature with a 'next train home' option.

Urbanspoon

This app provides a restaurant-recommendation service which allows you to search and browse local eateries.

Urbanspoon compiles ratings and reviews from newspapers, bloggers and other diners so you have the best chance of choosing the right place to eat.

Shaking your iPhone will cause the app to generate at random a restaurant for you to try if you fancy something a bit different.

World Clock Pro

Business travellers can't afford to lose track of time and the World Clock Pro app helps you keep tabs in changing time zones. The alarm clock feature allows you to set alarms in different time zones so you don't have to worry about oversleeping or missing a meeting.

World Customs and Culture

World Customs and Culture can help business travellers wanting to make a good impression in a foreign culture. Cultural dos and don'ts are divided into headings including greetings, eye contact, gender issues and taboos.

The app also features GPS tracking so it can find exactly which country you are in and provide you with the relevant information.

Booking.com

Booking.com lets you book accommodation for over 135,000 hotels worldwide without the need for print-outs. The app also provides upwards of 8.6 million reviews and photos so you can judge for yourself whether the 'clean and simple' room description is accurate.

2011 World Factbook

While this app won't transform your travel experience, it will help you learn more about the country you're in beyond what you see on the cab ride from the airport to your hotel and back.

The 2011 World Factbook app features information from the CIA World Factbook to provide some interesting facts on over 250 countries across the world.

The information comes under headings including people, government, economy and transnational issues, potentially providing you with talking points in meetings with your foreign contacts. At the very least it gives you something a bit different to read at the airport.