Travel Guidebook App Doesn’t Rely on Internet Access to Work

Go to article

September 13, 2012 by Kate Freeman4

LikeTweet+1SharePin ItShare

Traveling with the intent of “getting away from it all” should be re-worded for smartphone-o-philes to be “getting away from almost all of it while firmly clutching your smartphone” — or something like that.

If you have a smartphone, it’s likely you use it to explore your own city. From finding places to eat, making dinner reservations, looking for a new gig, and navigating a new part of town. Stay is a smartphone app from the website of the same name. Users can download detailed travel maps and explore hotels, restaurants and other places they want to visit within their map. Connect the Stay app with Facebook, and users can get advice from friends.

Exorbitant smartphone Internet-access charges can really kill your travel buzz. One of the more unique features of Stay.com is that once you have a map of your chosen destination on your smartphone, you can access it offline, including the GPS navigation abilities. So if you’re on the airplane heading to your destination — or even half way around the world — you can continue to explore within your map without an Internet connection.

When and if you do get an Internet connection, the Stay app will show you travel advice from fellow travelers and friends. If you’re traveling with friends, the app will share your map with them, including the highlighted destinations.

Stay is available on Android [Google Play link] and iPhone [iTunes link] devices. Currently, there are 116 detailed city maps within the app. Stay accesses information from partner sites including Google Places, TripAdvisor and Time Out to include maps and tips for millions of venues. The maps take up about 5MB of space on your phone.

In 2010, Time magazine named Stay.com as one of the “50 Best Websites.”

What do you think of Stay.com’s app? Tell us in the comments.