Handy apps for the Open Road

Open road apps from Mike Wendland on Vimeo.

Instead of huge guidebooks or trying to fold and refold paper maps, our smartphones and tablets can get us to our destination with ease, making sure we don’t miss anything interesting along the way. I did a recent NBC-TV PC Mike segment on  two very handy and powerful apps that will change the way you travel. Both are perfect for RVing:

For those summer road trips, you sure can’t beat the handy iExit app for the iPhone and iPad and Android phones. It uses your device’s built in GPS capabilities to tell youwhat’s coming up in real time when driving on the interstate. Select your favorite chains and it will tell you which upcoming exits have them.

Besides food, it shows what hotels are ahead, where to get gas, ice cream, auto service, rest areas.  Cost is just 99-cents.

Way more expensive…but way powerful…is a new GPS app for the iPhone and called Copilot Live.  The cost is $25 fror the premium version but this a complete dedicated GPS navigation system that seamlessly integrates directly with your iPhone, iPad or Android functions. What I really like about it is that detailed street maps are stored on-board your device so there’s no need to use your mobile service or data plan to navigate to your destination or worry about losing directions when you travel out of the coverage area.