smartphone Archives - TravelSkills

Room upgrades, late check-out, more via Marriott app

February 8, 2017

Marriott has an iOS version of its redesigned app. (Image: Marriott)

Marriott has released an iOS version of its redesigned app. (Image: Marriott)

Marriott Rewards members will see upgraded functions and personalized features in the hotel giant’s redesigned mobile app, available now for iOS users through the Apple App Store.

The company said the upgraded Marriott Mobile app will be ready for Android users later this year.

Among the changes:

The app has offered mobile check-in/check-out and room-ready alerts for three years, but now members who check in with the app will be able to request room upgrades and find out before they arrive whether the request was approved.
Users will also be able to ask for a late check-out via the app instead of calling the front desk (late check-out is guaranteed for Marriott Rewards Gold and Platinum members).
With the improved Mobile Requests feature, users can chat directly with hotel staff before, during or after their stay for requests that need personal attention; they can also select from a drop-down menu listing the most common requests (e.g., more towels).
The app’s Mobile Key function, which lets users unlock their room from their phone, is gaining more widespread applicability, coming to another 500 hotels worldwide this year.
The app will let users peruse destination content for their upcoming trips, culled from Marriott’s digital magazine and provided by local experts.
A new user interface uses a one-button design that provides “simple thumb-tap access to everything the app has to offer,” Marriott said.

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Marriott offers two all-suite brands in San Diego’s Bayfront. (Image: Marriott)

The app’s functionality will get even more personalized later this year, Marriott said, when it rolls out a real-time messaging service called mPlaces. That will provide users with “travel and hotel information, recognition and offers at the right time and place for Marriott Rewards members throughout their stays,” the company said.

“Over time, Marriott will add more personalized and informative content based on data and driven by beacons now installed at over 500 hotels,” Marriott noted. “For example, members who typically work out while they travel would receive information about the location, hours and services of the hotel fitness facility. Other future app features will enable members to order restaurant and room service menu items delivered wherever they are, such as lounging by the pool.”

Do you use hotel apps? Which ones, and which features, work best for you? Please leave your comments below.

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New device offers drivers a heads-up, hands-free display

November 4, 2016

The smartphone-linked Navdy device gives drivers a heads-up display. (Image: Navdy)

Do you spend a lot of time driving for business, but don’t like the thought of constantly looking at your smartphone as you try to stay in touch on the road? A new device makes it possible to handle communications and directions while you continue staring straight ahead at the road.

The new Navdy calls itself “the world’s first augmented driving device.” It links up with iOS and Android smartphones and projects information onto a small transparent screen that sits directly in front of the driver.

“Navdy lets you make and receive calls, listen to messages, control music, receive calendar reminders and stay connected to the apps on your phone,” the company said. “Navdy also connects to your car with Navdy Dash to show your speed, RPM and automatically recommend nearby gas stations when your fuel level is low.”

This video gives you an idea of how it works:

The Navdy device is fully portable, using a magnetic mounting system, and comes with a small dial that lets drivers scroll, zoom and navigate menus, and access Siri and Google Now. Drivers also have the option of using hand gestures to accept a call or message. Its navigation system is based on Google Maps, and directions are projected as a transparent image in front of the driver. “With its own high precision GPS chip and local storage of maps drivers don’t have to worry about losing navigation if they are out of network coverage,” the company noted.

The product is currently priced from $71 a month, or $799 as a one-time purchase with no monthly fees. If you don’t like it, you can return the unit within 30 days for a refund. For details, go to www.navdy.com.

The company said it will offer free same-day delivery at setup service for customers in the San Francisco Bay area, Los Angeles, Chicago, Manhattan, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta and Miami.

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Really bad news for Samsung smartphone owners

October 14, 2016

Samsung’s Galaxy Note7 is formally banned from U.S. aircraft. (Image: Samsung)

Are you still holding onto a Samsung Galaxy Note7 smartphone that you haven’t returned yet despite Samsung’s recent request that you do so?

If you plan to keep using it because you think the odds of it catching fire are too small to worry about, don’t plan on taking it on an airplane.

Earlier, the FAA had advised flyers not to put those phones into checked luggage, or to power them up or charge them during flight. But given the continuing problems with the device, the government has now issued an unprecedented, full-fledged ban– now you cannot even bring it on the plane.

The Transportation Department said Friday that effective at midday on Saturday (October 15), the Galaxy Note7 is banned from all U.S. aircraft, even if it is turned off. Anyone found with one could have it confiscated and could be fined, DOT said. If you try to hide it in checked luggage, you could face criminal prosecution, DOT noted.

If airline staff see a passenger carrying a Galaxy Note7 before boarding, they are required to keep that person off the plane.

“Passengers currently traveling with Samsung Galaxy Note7 phones should contact Samsung or their wireless carrier immediately to obtain information about how to return their phones and arrange for a refund or a replacement phone,” DOT said. “Samsung has provided guidance for customers about refund and replacement options, as well as how to contact wireless carriers, at http://www.samsung.com/us/note7recall. Samsung is also answering customers’ questions at 1-844-365-6197.”

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Verizon’s TravelPass plan for international travelers

November 13, 2015

Verizon introduced a daily flat rate for international travelers. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

If Verizon is your smartphone carrier and you travel the world a lot, you have a new option called TravelPass. Priced at $2 a day per line in Mexico and Canada and $10 a day in around 100 other countries, the new plan lets you “take your domestic talk, text and data allowances with you,” Verizon says.

The $2 per day deal is excellent for quick trips to Mexico and Canada. But that $10 daily fee elsewhere still seems pretty high, even though it’s at least better than Verizon’s current monthly plans.

Once you sign up for TravelPass, the fee kicks in when you receive a call, connect to a data service, or send a text inside one of the 65+ countries where it works. Once that 24 hours is up, the daily fee won’t kick in again until you receive a call, connect to a data service, or send a text – at which point another TravelPass day will begin.

To sign up go to MyVerizon.com and select “manage international services” or use the MyVerizon app on your phone to activate it before embarking on a trip. Once at your destination, you’ll receive a text message welcoming you to the country and reminding you of the service and the daily fee.

Besides the flat daily fee, TravelPass assesses no per-use fee for talk, text or data as long as you stay within your domestic plan’s limits.

According to CNNMoney, Verizon customers are likely to get 3G or 4G speeds when they’re in foreign countries- compared to the slower 2G speeds from T-Mobile, which has made a lot of noise recently about its new “free” international roaming plans.

An analysis by Forbes says that evaluating whether TravelPass is a good deal depends on how much you’ll use your phone while abroad. Buying a local SIM card could be a much better option, Forbes notes, and Verizon’s CDMA phones might not work on the GSM networks that are common in other countries.

Click here to see where TravelPass works

How do you use your phone when overseas? Which carrier do you use and how do you avoid spending too much? Please leave your tips below…

Travel app usage surprisingly low

September 25, 2015

How many travel apps do you have on your phone? (Image: Jim Glab)

Do you use travel apps on your smartphone to book or track any elements of your travel? If so, you’re actually in the minority, according to a new survey by the Global Business Travel Association Foundation (GBTA) and Carlson Wagonlit Travel.

They polled more than 500 U.S. and Canadian road warriors, and found that only four in 10 have used a smartphone to book a hotel in the past six months — and hotel apps are the most frequently downloaded onto those devices. You can’t book if you don’t have apps, and the study found that “less than half of the business travelers surveyed have downloaded airline, hotel, travel reservation or general travel apps” onto their phones.

While just 39 percent booked a hotel on a smartphone app, 58 percent did so on a laptop and 43 percent used a desktop. Just 25 percent booked with a tablet.

To no one’s surprise, use of smartphone apps for travel purposes — like so many other things — declines with age. Travelers 55 and over were much less likely to have travel apps on their phones than their younger colleagues.

Another surprise (to us, at least, here in San Francisco) is that only about a third of business travelers have downloaded ground transport apps like Uber, Lyft, etc. Is that you? Then sign up here today and get your first ride for free!

“When it comes to how the apps are used, Millennials are more likely than Baby Boomers to use apps for booking hotels, hotel check-in, booking car rentals, checking reviews and online translation,” GBTA said. “Gen-X travelers are more likely than Baby Boomers to use travel apps for navigation, hotel check-in, tracking expenses, booking car rentals and online translation.”

Hotel apps dominated the types of travel apps downloaded, followed by general travel booking apps like online travel agencies, followed by ground transport apps and then review apps.

Looking at online hotel reservations that were not made through a company’s own online booking tool, 54 percent of the travelers said they booked directly with a hotel, while 41 percent used a third-party website and 5 percent used an event registration site.

“Interestingly, 42 percent who used an alternative channel said they are not required to share their travel information with their company,” GBTA noted. “This hampers a travel buyer’s ability to monitor and enforce policy compliance and also means they may not be able to locate their traveler in an emergency.”

What apps are on your smart phone? Which ones do you use the most?

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Just speak into your watch…

June 22, 2015

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InterContinental Hotels Group’s new guest technology is smartphone-based. (Image: InterContinental Hotels Group)

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) is the latest lodging giant to start rolling out the next generation of technology-based guest services, much of it designed to work with customers’ smartphones, and one intriguing innovation — a language translator — that works with the Apple Watch.

The company said its IHG Translator App will translate a spoken English phrase into any of 13 other languages, or users can select from a menu of common phrases that are pre-loaded into the software.

A translation app works with the Apple Watch. (Image: InterContinental Hotels Group)

Other innovations coming from IHG include:

Mobile Check In and Check Out, including confirmation of arrival time and notification by SMS when a guest’s room is ready. It is currently being deployed in the Americas region, and U.S.-based IHG Rewards Club elite members “will have exclusive access to the service in the first instance,” the company said.

An extension of the check-in, check-out service is the new Mobile Folio, which lets guests see their hotel bill in real time on their phone or tablet; they get the final bill during Mobile Check Out.

Mobile Room Keys — currently being tested in the U.S. — will let guests bypass the front desk upon arrival and go directly to their assigned room, using a smartphone to open the door.

With IHG Guest Request, customers can use the IHG App to ask hotel staff for a variety of special services or items for their rooms; the app logs and tracks all requests to make sure they get a response.

IHG hotels in China are the testing ground for iBeacon technology. This involves planting little devices in lobbies and hotel restaurants that recognize IHG Rewards Club members by detecting the IHG App in their phones. “They then send information to the guest’s smartphone, including personalized notifications and offers relevant to their stay,” the company said.

The company is teaming up with Stay.com so that guests who book IHG properties in any of 50 worldwide destinations will be able to research and download personalized travel guides, for use online or offline. The linkup with Stay.com begins June 25.

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6 practical, protective or fun phone cases

March 3, 2015

An aluminum case from Elago (Photo: Iam Elago / Flickr)

Did you know that 75% of smart phone users have a case on their phone? And that the global smart phone “after market” for accessories like cases is around $21 billion a year?

Travelers choose smart phone covers for a variety of reasons, from extending battery life or protection, to one-upping the traveler next to them on the plane. What about you?

Take a scroll through these six interesting phone cases that are practical, protective or just plain fun. Which one is for you?

(Image: Prong)

Smartphone charging cords are likely the most left behind item among frequent travelers. With the new Prong charging case, you don’t need that cord anymore— the case has “prongs” that plug directly into a wall outlet. Smart idea! Works with iPhone 4, 5, 6, 6 Plus. (Newer versions available for pre-order only for $70) Keep in mind that as phone battery life improves, as it has recently with the introduction of the new iPhone 6, the need for charging cases like this will likely wane.

(Image: Macy’s)

Cases like this one for $26 from Kate Spade (as well as many other brands) that have a pocket on the back make getting through airport security a breeze. Instead of fumbling through your wallet to produce your drivers license for airport security when your boarding pass is on your phone, just keep it and a credit card or two conveniently tucked into the back of your phone. Silicon cases are the best for this because they feel sticky and hold tightly on to your cards– they won’t slip out.

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(Image: Tumi)

Here’s something to go with that snappy Tumi bag you haul around the world… a leather Tumi iPhone 6 or 6 Plus case ($85) available in orange, blue and black.

(Image: Task Lab)

The tough aluminum and polycarbonate TaskOne G3 case ($90) not only protects your phone, but provides a Swiss Army Knife-like stash of helpful tools from wire cutters or pliers to a screwdriver, ruler and a saw! But since there’s a knifeblade included, this case is only for road warriors who stick to the roads, not the skies, because even though that blade is just 2.5 inches, the TSA does not allow airline passengers to carry on knives of any type or length.

New York City is too crowded!

(Image: Crafic)

This ice cream sandwich case ($10-$26) is sure to turn heads and start conversations! It’s made in Los Angeles by Crafic for the Apple iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 5, 5S, 5C, 4, 4S & Samsung Galaxy S3, S4 and S5. Crafic has created a full line of colorful, whimsical smartphone cover designs made out of either hard plastic or soft rubber– check out the full collection here.

(Image: Apple)

Or you can just go with the case that I purchased from Apple ($49) with my new iPhone 6 Plus. Apple’s cases come in leather and silicone. Neither are super protective, but I chose the leather because of the nice way it feels in my hand. Plus, it’s super slim so it fits easily in my pocket… and I chose red so I would never lose it!

What about you? What do you love about your smart phone case? Or do you even have one? Leave your comments below.

—Chris McGinnis

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Room upgrades, late check-out, more via Marriott app

In the market for a new credit card? See our “Credit Card Deals” tab to shop around! It helps us help you.

New device offers drivers a heads-up, hands-free display

In the market for a new credit card? See our “Credit Card Deals” tab to shop around! It helps us help you!

Really bad news for Samsung smartphone owners

In the market for a new credit card?

Scroll up to our “Credit Card Deals” tab at the top to shop around! It helps us help you!

Verizon’s TravelPass plan for international travelers

Travel app usage surprisingly low

Just speak into your watch…

6 practical, protective or fun phone cases

Why you should change the credit cards you carry

New York City is too crowded!

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In the market for a new credit card? See our “Credit Card Deals” tab to shop around! It helps us help you!

In the market for a new credit card?

Scroll up to our “Credit Card Deals” tab at the top to shop around! It helps us help you!

>>Take a peek at what you may have missed on TravelSkills.com this week! <<

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