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Google 'Trips' allows travelers to explore new destinations offline
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A female traveler looking at Mount Batur in Bali. (Shutterstock/-)
Google's recently introduced Trips app functions as a travel guide and planner for users exploring a new destination.
Available for Android and iOS devices, the free app aims to assist travelers through every single step of their trip, including booking plane tickets, hotel reservations and car rentals. It also features editorial guides to more than 200 cities.
No WiFi or a data plan? Everything can work offline. Prior to leaving, users can download everything to their phones in advance, including information that would keep them from getting lost, like maps and walking directions.
(Read also: Visa launches airport companion app for travelers)
Google's product management vice president Richard Holden told The Verge that, “We really need to help consumers when they’re actually at their destination”, hoping that Trips will become the default way for travelers to plan a trip and "get around the town”.
Using your Google account, you can log in to Trips and immediately see a list of your upcoming and previously complete trips. The app will also show you a “Need to Know” unit, which provides you with the essentials: how to get to the airport, the local currency, and measures to take during an emergency.
Trips centers upon one feature: Things to Do, which can build personal itineraries based on the length of stay, popular destinations and anything that has been previously saved on a Google service.
However, the app's effectiveness will largely depend on the location, said the Indian Express in a review, since most of the content is user-generated. (mra/kes)
