Review: SplashTravel for iPhone & iPod Touch

June 24, 2009 | By Admin In Technology |

SplashTravel Main Screen

As we noted on JAMM the other day, SplashData has recently released SplashTravel for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Generously provided with a free copy from SplashData, the opportunity to review SplashTravel on my iPod Touch really excited me for two reasons. First, the purpose of the application would prove to very useful to me if it worked well. SplashTravel promises to provide an interface to commonly used and needed information for the traveler. Second, SplashData has been a company providing quality software for mobiles for a long time. Several of their apps were staples on my various Palm devices, so it was like revisiting an old friend to see what features SplashTravel would provide. So, grab a glass of iced tea (my choice of beverage) and read about all of the goodies that SplashData has served up for us in SplashTravel!

What Does SplashTravel Actually DO?:

SplashTravel promises to provide an assortment of tools for the traveler. In my experience with the program, I’ve found that it delivers on the feature set SplashData promised, including support for organizing trip information, tracking flight information, unit and currency convertors, various calculators, a packing list, an expense report tool and an assortment of handy reference charts.

SplashTravel’s Feature Set

The feature set is, in my opinion, the most important aspect of a program. What am I going to be able to do with the program? Can I do X? Does the program provide duplicate functionality compared to another program I’m already using? Does the application provide the potential to replace any smaller, more specialized apps on my device? In regards to SplashTravel’s feature set, we are going to examine each of the five screens. Read on to see how SplashData has combined myriad features into SplashTravel for your iPhone / iPod Touch.

Screen One: Home

Home

Upon first launching SplashTravel, you will be greeted with the Home Screen. The Home Screen provides you with a quick look at the time related aspects of SplashTravel. Home and Current clocks are present. At first, the purpose of two clocks confused me, but after experimenting (what one should do when trying out a new program) their intent made perfect sense. Actually, their intent is quite logical. Set the Home clock for your home time zone. Makes sense, right Now, let’s imagine that you’re suddenly in Tokyo, Japan. Set the Current clock to reflect your location and the Home automatically reflects what time it is for your loved ones left at home. Great way to know if you should call home… don’t want to waked the little ones! The Home screen also provides a small world map and a shortcut to SplashTravel’s settings options.

Screen Two: Time

Time

At first glance, the Time screen seems a bit redundant. After all, it shows the same Home and Current Clocks from the Home screen. It also shows the same time zone map. However, looking closer it isn’t difficult to see that there are some differences between the two.

First, the world map provides a shortcut to a full screen, horizontal view. The Home and Current locations are already marked on the map with flags. You can also tap anywhere on the map to quickly find the time.

The second useful feature here is the Time Calculator. This is a great feature for comparing the time in your current location with other cities.

Finally, the Day Calculator comes in quite handy for checking how many days there are until an event. Gentleman, take note here… great way to keep tabs on how many shopping days you have until Christmas, the upcoming anniversary or the birthday. Better to stay out of the dog house, guys!

Screen Three: Calculators

Calculators

On the third screen, there are four specialized calculators. The first, the currency calculator, allows you to bi-directionally convert one currency to another. You can even download current exchange rates via your phone’s data connection to help ensure accuracy. The second calculator, aimed at unit conversions, serves to be a handy reference tool. You can use this to convert units of measurement between different formats in case you don’t happen to recall the formulas you were taught in school! Additionally, SplashData has included a tip calculator for determining how the bill should be split and finally, a chart of very interesting clothing comparisons. The charts are grouped according to gender and clothing type, providing comparisons of measurements from the US, Europe, the UK and Japan. Feeling a bit dangerous the other night, I felt obliged to tell my wife that in Europe her size 9 shoe would be a 40!

Chart

Screen Four: Trips

Trips

SplashTravel’s Trips screen serves as an information repository for your trip. Allowing the user to define the basics of the trip (where, when), the user is then able to include additional information pertaining to the hotel reservations, events that will occur on the trip, car rental information and restaurant details, to name a few. This should prove very useful for even the most organized of travelers, as it provides all of the pertinent information in a central location.

Screen Five: Lists

Lists

Screen five contains the previously mentioned packing list, along with a simple expense reports tool and some additional reference information. The report tool allows the user to define a expense report for a specific trip and then enter expenditures. SplashData has thoughtfully incorporated an option to email the report as a means of submitting it or transferring it to a desktop computer for further editing. SplashTravel doesn’t fail to provide tons of useful reference information, with even more found on the Lists screen. Lists abound, containing area codes, zip codes and contact information for major hotels and car rental agencies.

So, Why Would I Need or Want SplashTravel on my iPhone?

In conclusion, let’s look at the question of why SplashTravel might be a good choice for you from two aspects: one being the frequent traveler, the other being the reference interested individual. Up front, I’m not the world traveler my wife hopes that I would be (leaving my home time zone rarely happens), but it doesn’t take a stretch to see how useful SplashTravel would be to a person who is routinely on the road for business or pleasure.

There are several features that make SplashTravel a “no brainer” if you travel. The time tools are convenient, providing means for comparing the time in your current location to the time at home. Great so that you don’t call in the middle of the night, waking the newborn baby! Currencies and units can be converted on the fly, using the most recent exchange rates. Very helpful so that you know exactly how much you are paying for that glass of iced tea. Additionally, the packing list, already populated with the most common items, can be tailored to specific needs.

Finally, let’s take a quick look at why a person like me (the travel challenged) would find SplashTravel a worthwhile addition to their iPhone or iPod Touch. SplashTravel serves as an excellent reference tool, providing information about time zones, currency and format conversions, time and date calculators and packing lists in one package.

First, the ability to easily check different time zones is very handy. Since I routinely collaborate with people in various parts of the United States and different countries, this gives me a way to easily determine when would be the best time to contact them, or when to expect a potential reply. From the screen below, you can see how easy it is to check the time in other cities compared to your home.

: Time Calculator

SplashTravel also provides a number of useful of specialized calculators. Included are calculators for currency and unit conversion, as well has a handy date calculator, allowing a user to check the amount of days between two events. Finally, SplashTravel provides a very useful packing list tool. As I noted, I’m not the world traveler that is constantly toting items from one town to another, but with a newborn at home, having a list of the items to check off for daycare or Grandma’s is a must have!

Overall, if you are looking for a package of utilities geared towards time management, whether you are a world traveler or simply need a reference tool, I recommend that you check out SplashData’s SplashTravel. For $4.99 in the iTunes App Store, you’re sure to find that the program incorporates a lot of functionality into a well presented interface.

Highlights

SplashTravel is presented with a great user interface, with controls placed in logical order.
It’s geared towards the person on-the-go, but has a number of reference features that still make SplashTravel useful for the more “travel challenged”.
The program has lot’s of functionality for a very reasonable price of $4.99.

Areas of Concern

It would be nice if there wasn’t a delay when showing the splash screen upon first launch. Maybe SplashData could incorporate an option to turn this off, unless, of course, there is a technical reason it exists.
Integration of alarms would be nice. Since SplashTravel overlaps so much of the built in clock’s functionality, referring to one program regularly for time and alarm needs would be great.

Specifications: