Top business travel apps

Going on a business trip? Here's a rundown of 10 essential apps for use on the move, from currency converters and flight trackers to the latest in language tools and Wi-Fi finders.

TripIt
TripIt is a free organiser application that allows people to manage and review travel itineraries both online and offline. The app provides links to hotels and maps, and (in the Pro version) offers flight alerts and alternative flight options.

TripIit is available for iPhone, Android and BlackBerry.

JiWire
The free JiWire Wi-Fi finder app detects local Wi-Fi hotspots (both free and paid-for) and provides directions. People also have the option of submitting free Wi-Fi spots to the app's directory.

JiWire lists more than 500,000 Wi-Fi locations in 144 countries. The UK tops the list with 112,881 hotspots.

The app is available for iPhone and Android.

Kayak
Travel comparison site Kayak has a free app for iPhone, iPad, BlackBerry and Android. It allows you to search for and book flights and hotels, and provides car-rental search, packing lists and airline fees information.

FlightTrack
FlightTrack (£2.99) provides real-time flight information, maps, baggage-claim information and alternative flights. It covers 1,400 airlines and 4,000 airports. The £5.99 'Pro' version adds weather forecast details for arrival and departure airports, and syncs with TripIt.

The basic version of FlightTrack is available for iPhone, iPad, Android, BlackBerry and WebOS. FlightTrack Pro is available to iPhone, iPad and Android users.

Invoice2go
This iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad app comes in free (Invoice2go Lite) and paid-for (£5.99) versions and provides 20 built-in templates for efficient invoicing on the move. Templates can be previewed and then sent as PDF files. It's also possible to add PayPal buttons to invoices so customers can pay bills immediately.

In addition, the app automatically configures currency and tax according to the country in which you happen to be.

XE Currency
The free XE Currency converter app is, quite simply, the mobile version of its well-established website. Available for iPhone, iPad, BlackBerry and Android, the free app tracks live exchange rates of more than 180 currencies and precious metals.

Users can track up to 10 currencies at a time and personalised settings include the option of shaking the handset to refresh the exchange rates.

Toshl
The free Toshl expenses app is an efficient way of recording your expenses. Data is encrypted and can be sorted by time. The app can be synchronised between multiple phones and a Toshl web account.

When synced with the pro version of the web account (£12.25 for a year), the app allows you to export data to Excel, Google Docs and as PDFs, and lets you to create graphs to get a better picture of what you're spending.

The app is available for iPhone, Android, Maemo and Symbian^3.

Met Office app
Weather is a fact of business as well as of life. The free Met Office app for iPhone offers up-to-date weather forecasts and warnings, along with weather maps, UK rainfall radar and satellite imagery.

Transit app
The £1.19 Transit app for iPhone offers underground transport maps of 20 major cities worldwide. The maps can be stored and used offline, and the app features a 'locate me' button that pinpoints your nearest station.

Google Translate
The free Google Translate app for Android supports 53 languages and voice input for 15. It also features an alpha version of its conversation mode, which records speech, translates it and reads it back aloud — providing you have the text-to-speech (eSpeak for Android) engine installed. At present the conversation feature only supports English-Spanish translation.

Google also recently launched Google Translate for iPhone.

Have you tried any of the apps on this list? Can you recommend any other essential apps for travel? Let us know in the comments section below.

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